Where I Belong
by CloveEngland
Summary: Years have passed, and it's time for the new generation of Fairies to reign. But when Natalie, one of the strongest guild members and the adopted daughter of Natsu and Lucy, begins to doubt her worth in Fairy Tail, will she be able to find where she truly belongs? And will it really lie with Fairy Tail, or will it lie elsewhere? Bad summary is bad. Many pairings, wow, much ship.
1. Doubt

It was any normal day at Fairy Tail; well, if you considered the date. More than fifteen years had passed since the times of Team Natsu. Natsu had matured a lot, and when Makarov finally retired, he had made Natsu the guild master, much to the joy of the rest of the guild, who knew that Salamander was worthy of the position. Natsu and Lucy had married and had two children; one of which was truly theirs, and the other they'd taken in. Theirs was about six, and the child whom they'd taken in was fourteen.

"Don't look at me like that rock-head!"

"Who're you callin' rock-head, stardust-brain?"

Lucy chuckled as she watched her adopted daughter fight with one of her closest friends, as odd as it was. "Who do they remind you of?" she murmured to Natsu, leaning her head on his shoulder. He grinned at her and looked over at Gray.

"Hey ice-brain," he shouted, "it's been a while since we had a good fight!"

Erza stormed over and said, "Oh no, you don't, Natsu. You're a grown man. You should know better." Natsu cowered before the great Fairy Queen.

"Yes, Erza," he squeaked out.

Gray meanwhile, was simply laughing, sitting at a table with Juvia and their fifteen year old son, Caiden. Most of the old guild was this way now; married, with children, or grown and watching their guild-mates' children to make sure they didn't get into TOO much trouble.

"Rock-head," the girl grumbled, heading over to her parents. She had long blonde hair that was slightly pink at the end, as though it'd been dipped in pale pink paint. She wore a strapless pink dress with slightly shimmery frills on the skirt as well as pink ballet flats with pink ribbons crisscrossed up her legs and tied in a bow behind her knees. She also had pink ribbons up her arms. Her eyes were a hazel-y green. Even though they were not blood-related, it was easy to believe when she said that she was the daughter of Natsu and Lucy Dragneel.

She sat on a stool next to Natsu and Caiden walked over, sitting next to her. "Why don't you kids go on a mission?" Natsu said, grinning at the two. "Lucy, Gray, Erza and I used to go on missions almost every day. Natalie, you haven't gone on one lately."

Natalie shrugged and looked at Caiden. "Well? You feel like going on a mission?" The boy nodded brightly and they stood up, heading over to the request board.

"Not even gonna invite me, egg-heads?" the girl who'd been fighting with Natalie before joked as she headed over to them.

"Of course you can come, Kailah!" Caiden said, and Natalie nodded brightly. After looking for a little while, they found a job that paid well and seemed easy; the request asked them to take out a group of bandits. As the three of them walked out, a periwinkle Exceed, the daughter of Happy and Carla, flew up to Natalie.

"I thought you weren't gonna make it, Lilac," Natalie laughed, hugging the cat to her chest. The Exceed giggled and shook her head, flying alongside them. Kailah was staring at the request paper incredulously.

"Yu…Yume… Yumezuma? Yeesh, what kind of a town is Yumezuma?" she was squinting at it… and it was upside down.

Natalie took it from her and said, "Kailah, the town is Lumeville. I don't know where you got Yumezuma from. And it's a little town just outside of Magnolia. But I think we'll still have to…" she gulped, "…take the train."

The other three laughed. Natalie had horrible motion sickness, as she was a Celestial Dragon Slayer. It was a very strong form of Dragon Slayer magic that she'd been taught by Lucy and Natsu. They were both teaching her their magic powers at the same time, and somehow, she'd come up with it, but it definitely worked for her.

"Don't worry, Natalie," Caiden said, "We'll get your mind off of it." He smiled at her, his cheeks reddening just a little. Kailah rolled her eyes with a small laugh. It was plain to see that Caiden had a crush on Natalie. Unfortunately, she was dense as could be and though she also clearly loved him, she didn't realize it yet.

Caiden was decently handsome. He had a dark shade of royal blue hair and bright blue eyes. His magic was Water Make Magic, again, a combination of his parents' powers. He didn't have his father's habit of stripping completely, but he did have a habit of taking his shirt off in the midst of battles and in the midst of normal conversations.

Kailah had black hair, meanwhile, and golden eyes. She had tanned skin and wore a long sleeved gray and gold shirt, though the sleeves were a net-like lace, and a dark gray mini skirt with gold lining. She also wore gold knee-high boots. Her magic was Earth magic. Her specialty was rocks, but she also had a way with plants.

The four of them, Kailah, Caiden, Natalie, and Lilac, got on the train. Well, Lilac, Caiden, and Kailah had to drag Natalie on, but in the end they made it on just fine. They sat down in a compartment before the train started and Lilac took a sleeping pill out of a satchel she always had.

"Take this, Nats," she said, and Natalie gratefully took it, the magic medicine quickly causing her to fall asleep, coincidentally on Caiden's shoulder. The train started moving, unbeknownst to the sleeping Dragon Slayer, and Kailah looked at Caiden.

"Read that paper to me," she said. She never could get the hang of reading. It was probably some awful case of dyslexia, but she didn't try to do much about it. She could always just get someone else to read it aloud to her anyways.

Caiden took the paper from Natalie's hand, which had fallen slack when she fell asleep. He flattened it out on the table and read. "From the Mayor of Lumeville; a group of bandits called MidKnights have been terrorizing the townspeople. We need a group of strong wizards to defeat them so they can be safely put in prison for their crimes. Reward: 210,000 jewel." He looked up and said, "So we can split it three ways; I get 70,000; you get 70,000; and Nat gets 70,000."

"What about me?" Lilac asked angrily. Caiden and Kailah just laughed. Lilac stomped her paw down on the table. "I'm serious!" This just made the two burst into even harder laughter, and finally the Exceed gave in and laughed with them.

They made small talk, things about the mission, the weather, etc. as the train ride wore on, and soon they made it to their destination. Natalie stirred slightly and blinked open her eyes, yawning and stretching as she followed the others off the train, Lilac flying beside her. "I'm still tired guys…" she grumbled, shaking off sleep.

Kailah chuckled and said, "Well I'm sure it beats motion sickness. Wake up, cloud-brain. We've got a request to fulfill." Natalie grinned and they went to the Mayor's house. When they got there, they knocked on the door and a little elderly maid opened it. She just blinked at them, waved them in, and scurried down the hall.

"Weird place," Caiden muttered as he watched the old lady scurry off. Nat nodded in agreement as she looked around. A few minutes later, the lady scurried back with a tall man. The man had white hair that was carefully combed to one side. He wore a deep purple suit with a neon green bowtie and a gray vest.

"Ah, yes, wizards, splendid, splendid! Come, mages, we have much to discuss, ah, splendid!" He walked into a different room and the teenage wizards followed him. He sat down in a large green chair and motioned for them to sit on a purple couch with green polka dots.

When they were all seated, the mayor began to speak. "My name is Cornelius Figlius Maximus, Mayor of Lumeville here, splendid town, splendid indeed! And it is my duty to protect these splendid people and keep them happy and of course keep the town overall splendid. However, the bandit group known as MidKnights has been tormenting my people, which is certainly not splendid! I need you wizards to capture them, and take them to the police, splendid, splendid!"

"The reward is 210,000 jewel. It would be simply splendid if you would do this for our splendid little town!" he finished, smiling brightly.

"Of course we'll do it," Caiden said brightly. "Shall we get to it now?" His comrades nodded and Cornelius clapped his hands together with an excited, 'Splendid!' With that, the four Fairies left and went to search for the MidKnights.

Natalie looked around and said, "Well, we ought to divide and conquer. Caiden, you can go west. Kailah, you can go north. Lilac, you go south. I'll take the east side of town. Send up a magic signal if you find them. Yeah?"

Kailah grumbled in a teasing manner, "Dragon girl, taking charge, never letting anyone else do anything."

"Do you have a better idea, Kailah?" Natalie said back, grinning. Kailah shrugged and headed off in her given direction. Lilac also flew off in hers. Natalie went to head off to the east, but Caiden grabbed her wrist before she left.

"Be careful, Nats," he said, his eyes glimmering with a slight concern for her. She smiled softly at him, understanding his concern, but knowing that they had to continue on their separate ways if they were to succeed.

"You be careful too, Caiden. I'm sure we'll all be fine." He nodded and reluctantly let go of her before running off to the west, and Natalie continued on her way east. She walked for what seemed like an eternity, looking at people's faces closely and smelling the air often with her dragon slayer senses to try and find anything suspicious, but nothing seemed to stand out. So she was surprised when she saw a rock fly into the air from the north.

Nat began running that way, knowing that that was Kailah's signal to let them know that she'd found something that was suspicious, or that she'd literally found the bandits themselves. On her way there, she was joined by Caiden and Lilac, who were also sprinting to get there.

They all skidded to a halt next to Kailah, who was facing four wizards. The one who appeared to be the leader was a man with fuzzy green hair and a green beard. He had freckles all over his face and a cigarette perched in his mouth. He wore a black hoodie, jeans, and work boots. His comrades also adorned black hoodies; a girl with fiery orange hair, skinny jeans and boots; a boy who seemed about their age, with yellow hair, sweat pants and sneakers; and another man with black hair, dark pants and sandals.

"So you're the MidKnights," Kailah drawled, eyeing them curiously. "You four don't look like much." The man with green hair scowled.

"And you here are Fairy Tail wizards? I don't believe it. This was all that guild could come up with? You're just a bunch of stupid, weak teens, and a little kitty cat." He laughed. The Fairies got into fighting stances, glaring at the MidKnights, who also prepared to fight.

Immediately they burst out in battle, throwing attacks simultaneously. Kailah and Caiden took on the girl and the man with black hair, and Lilac and Natalie faced the leader and the boy with yellow hair.

Natalie found out quickly that the man with green hair used Ice Make magic and that the boy with yellow hair used lightning magic, like Laxus. They fought for a while until Natalie was breathing heavily from throwing attacks and the leader was grinning. The boy however also seemed winded. The team was more nimble than Nat had expected, being able to dodge her attacks with ease.

"Wait, I know you," the man with green hair said, walking up to her. "You're Lucy and Natsu's kid, or so they say. Natalie Dragneel." He chuckled. "Or should I say, Nat Bluelily." Natalie stared with wide eyes in shock when her name was spoken aloud. Images of her childhood long ago flashed in her mind. She remembered the day she was taken in.

_Natalie sat in the middle of a ruined village, tears streaming down her face. She was confused. She couldn't remember anything other than her name. Nat… Natalie… and her last name… Blue…lily. She sobbed loudly, frightened. She saw the back of a man with green hair, but that was it._

_Then, suddenly, she saw people running up to her. "Natsu, dear, someone's here, someone's survived!" A woman with blonde hair and brown, worried eyes kneeled down before her shaking form, taking the little four-year-old into her arms. "It's okay," the woman murmured, "I've got you, little one. You'll be alright." _

_Natalie clung to the woman desperately. She then saw a man with pink hair and a white scarf come up behind her and kneel down next to them. "Damn," he whispered softly, "she's just a kid. Poor thing; we have to take her to the guild with us, Luce."_

_Lucy nodded and said, "Definitely, but Natsu… she needs more than that. This child needs a family. She needs parents. She looks even younger than you, Gray, and Erza were when you came to the guild." Natsu smiled despite the horrific scene before them._

"_Well dear, you've been saying how much you'd like kids." Lucy's face brightened up and she picked Natalie up. The two of them walked away, carrying the girl with them. _

_Natalie wrapped her arms around Lucy's neck and looked behind her at the tattered remains of the village in which she'd once lived. And she saw the person peering out from behind a charred wall. It was the person with the green hair; no, the man with the green hair._

It was… the man with the green hair. "You," Natalie said in a slightly shaky voice, "you destroyed that village… you… you _killed _all those people!" The man laughed maniacally. Natalie trembled in a mixture of horror and anger. "You KILLED them!"

"Roar of the…" she started, and right before she threw the attack, the man said something she'd never forget.

"Are you sure you're worthy of Fairy Tail? You're sure you're worthy of your parents? That is, if they really are your parents."

"CELESTIAL DRAGON!" she yelled, and a beam that was the color of the night sky splattered with stars flew toward him and the yellow-haired boy. It took out those two opponents and made a gaping hole straight through the building behind them.

Kailah and Caiden finished their two bandits off and looked over at Natalie, who was kneeling on the ground with Lilac patting her shoulder and saying something quietly to her. She just shook her head and stood up, looking over at the other two wizards.

"You overdid it, Nat," Kailah said softly, pointing to the wall. Natalie looked at it and winced. She then shook her head and sighed.

"We're Fairy Tail. We always overdo it. Come on; let's just take these guys to the cops, get our reward and head home." They nodded, slightly thrown off by her sudden pessimistic mood.

Luckily, they didn't get in too much trouble for busting a hole in the building; it was an old building, and apparently the bandits tended to do much worse while they were in power in Lumeville. They collected the reward money and got on the train. Lilac tried to give Natalie a sleeping pill, but she shook her head. Her mind was too busy with that one statement. She simply leaned on Caiden's shoulder and didn't say a word. For once, her motion sickness didn't bother her.

While she left her friends to wonder what the hell was wrong with her, one thought was racing venomously around her mind.

'_Are you sure you're worthy of Fairy Tail? You're sure you're worthy of your parents? If they really are your parents, that is.'_

**A/N So what do you guys think? Is it good? Don't worry, the plot's going to get better from here, this is just the exposition!**

**Also, what do you guys think of Mayor Cornelius? xD I noticed Fairy Tail characters tend to have their little speech things, so I decided that Cornelius' speech thing would be "splendid!"**

**Let me know; please leave a review! I'm going to try to do a chapter a day, or maybe a chapter every two days. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Twisted Ideas

The train pulled up in Magnolia and the group got off in silence. But then, Kailah broke it by speaking to Natalie. "What's up with you?" she asked, "I know you're usually weird, but this is even weirder than normal. What, are you mad we didn't stop for food?" she joked.

Natalie looked at her with a broken expression. "No…" she said, sighing, and her voice trailed away before she said softly, "Maybe I just don't deserve to be in Fairy Tail. Maybe I'm not good enough… maybe I don't deserve to be called a Dragneel." Her voice broke at the end and Kailah looked taken aback, not realizing ahead of time the effect her joke would have on Nat.

"What are you talking about?" Caiden snapped, "You're the strongest wizard we've got aside from the adults. Of _course _you deserve to be in Fairy Tail and be called a Dragneel. Of _course _you're good enough! If you aren't then none of us are." Natalie just shook her head and looked at him sadly.

"I… just don't know where I belong."

Caiden frowned. "Where is this coming from? That job went perfectly fine. No one had to save you, so why are you going off about not being good enough?"

Natalie turned to him, her eyes blazing now with a sudden light. "You wouldn't understand. Juvia and Gray really are your parents. My past is a bit more complicated than yours, and well, this job brought some of it back to the surface, a part that has been buried for a long time."

He took a step back from her sudden retort and murmured, "Sorry I bugged you." She looked away, mumbled something that was inaudible though he believed to be an apology of some sort, and then walked on back to the guild. Lilac, who had remained silent throughout all of this, gave them a sympathetic and apologetic look as she flew off. Kailah stared at them curiously.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," Kailah said, noticing the setting sun and knowing that she had to do something to settle Caiden so that he didn't beat himself up too much over Natalie's bout. "She's probably on her period or something. She'll be fine in the morning and I'll help you clear this whole thing up."

Natalie, meanwhile, walked to the guild hall, where her mother was waiting at the entrance. "Your father took Amilya home," Lucy said, "so I decided to wait until nightfall so we could walk home together." Natalie forced a smile.

"Thanks, m-mom," she said, finding it hard for her to push out the name for her adoptive mother. Lucy gave her a questioning glance, but didn't pry, and the two of them and Lilac headed home. When they walked in, Natsu was chasing Amilya, Natalie's six year old little sister, around the house. Lucy frowned immediately, shut the door, and picked up Amilya as she ran past.

"Are you causing dad problems?" Lucy asked the girl, who giggled and shook her head. "Really now; then why is he chasing you around the house?" She looked at Natsu for a response.

Natsu laughed nervously and said, "I was trying to get her to go to bed but… she wanted to play tag."

"So you _let _her?

"Um… yes? Have I ever told you you're beautiful when you're angry?"

Lucy smiled, put Amilya down, and kissed him, earning a disgusted noise from the six-year-old. "Shnattle sweetie, take your sister to bed, won't you?" Natalie sighed. Any happiness she may have felt from her mom waiting at the guild for her was erased. As usual, she was playing babysitter. She didn't mind it; Lucy and Natsu were great parents; but now with these heavy thoughts on her mind it made her feel like the only thing she was good for was caring for their blood-relative.

"Come on, Amilya," Natalie sighed, taking her sister's hand and leading her to her room. In silence, she helped Amilya change into her pajamas and get into bed. Natalie was going to turn the light off when she heard a small voice behind her.

"Wait." Natalie turned and saw Amilya looking at her with a frown on her face. She felt her stomach do a flip. Amilya never frowned. "Natty. Can you sing me a song?" Natalie nodded slowly and closed the door, walking over to her bed and sitting down next to Amilya.

"What do you want me to sing?"

Amilya shrugged. "Can you just sing me a lullaby?" Natalie nodded and sang her a soft, slow song about good dreams and happy days, as all lullabies were. When she finished, Amilya was still frowning. "Sissy's sad." Amilya whispered. "Natty, why're you sad?" Natalie was taken aback.

"How did you know?"

"You're my sissy," Amilya said simply. "Sissies always know."

Natalie shook her head with a fond smile. "It's nothing you need to worry about Amilya. Just some things I need to work out on my own. Don't worry about it." Amilya nodded brightly, and Natalie stood, turned off the light, and left her room, heading to her own silently, not bothering to wish her parents good night, which they both found very strange but decided to leave her be for now.

She took a quick, hot shower in her bathroom before crawling into bed and lying there, staring blankly at the ceiling for hours before sleep finally overtook her.

_"Come with me, Caiden," she was saying, tears streaming down her cheeks. Natalie stared in confusion. She was watching something happen between herself and the rest of her guild-mates from outside her own body? Not only that, but it was something that had never happened. "Come with me, then. Think of what we can do."_

_ Caiden stared at her and tears began rolling down his own cheeks. "No, Nat, I-I can't. I love you, though. You can't leave me, please, please don't do this." Natalie shook her head sadly, and met the gazes of her upset guild-mates evenly._

_ "I have to do this. I have to find where I belong."_

_ Mavis stepped forward from the crowd. "Natalie Dragneel, I understand this longing for more. But I will not allow you to leave my guild." She smiled brightly. "But go on, please, start a guild! That's how Fairy Tail was started, after all! It wasn't my first guild, but it is my home guild! You shall forever bear the mark of Fairy Tail, but know that you are free to leave."_

_ Natalie bowed in shock and gratitude. "Thank you, so much, Number One." The girl smiled and nodded, and Natalie turned and walked out of the guild hall, feeling the eyes of her friends and family burn into her back. _

_ Suddenly, she was flying. Now, she was in a new place, standing with Lilac and two people she didn't know._

_ "What should we call it?"_

_ Natalie frowned. "How about…" the next part was fuzzy, and Natalie found herself whirled away again. Then, she was plunged into the darkness of a dreamless sleep._

She awoke with a jolt, jumping out of bed, getting dressed into the same thing she had worn the day before but in purple, and ran out towards the guild. When she got there, she saw that Caiden was already there, sitting on a bench with boredom in his eyes.

Nat sat down across from him, grinning brightly, and he gave her a weird look.

"Are you… are you feeling better?" he asked, seeming a little confused. "Yesterday you were—,"

"Yeah, yeah I know," Natalie said, "but I think I have the answer. Gosh, Caiden, I had the strangest dream. I left Fairy Tail, but I didn't really leave, Mavis Vermillion, the first master, she granted me the right to bear the marks of both Fairy Tail and another guild, saying I'd always be a member of Fairy Tail. Caiden, I left to _start a guild. _My own guild! And I asked you to come with me, oh, imagine how great it would be! And you… but…" she stopped suddenly and said softly, "you stayed here."

"It was just a dream Na-,"

"So you WOULD come with me! Oh I knew it Caiden!"

"No!" Caiden snapped, and immediately felt bad when he saw her wince. "I just mean, no. I never said that. All I'm saying is that, this is crazy. You belong here, in Fairy Tail, with me and Lilac and Kailah and your family. It was a dream, not a sign."

Natalie flinched, her happiness melting away like the morning dew. She said, "Oh… yeah. R-right, I… I don't know what I was thinking. I mean," she laughed, "starting a guild? I'm not strong enough. It was a crazy thought."

Caiden stared at her blankly, not able to believe a word he was hearing. He shook his head and stood up, walking away. Natalie sighed and rested her head on her hands. She heard the guild doors open and Natsu walked in with Happy. She looked down at the table and then stood up, hesitantly walking over to Natsu.

"Dad?" she said, and he grinned at her, as though encouraging her to get what she wanted to say out. "D…do you think…" her words broke and Natsu's smile slowly turned into a frown. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is," she sighed and said, "I don't know if Fairy Tail is where I'm meant to be. I might never have even joined a wizard guild if it hadn't been for you and mom. And you're not even my birth parents. I mean, I love you guys but… am I meant to be in Fiore's strongest guild?"

Natsu frowned. "Of course you are, Natalie. You can't live with _what ifs. _Right now, it sounds like you're stuck in the mindsets of, _what if I hadn't been found? _Or _what if I never learned magic? _But Nat, you _were _found by us and you _did _learn magic, pretty bad-ass magic if I might add, and because things went the way they did, you _are _meant to be here."

She nodded slowly. "Alright, yeah, ok. You're right." She smiled, "Thank you." He nodded and ruffled her hair before sending her on her way. Bright spirits restored, she walked off and waited for Kailah to come to the guild.

Lilac, meanwhile stood beside her and said, "Nat, you know I'd go anywhere with you and I love you, right?"

Natalie pet the Exceed's head. "Of course Lilac; why do you ask?"

Lilac looked at her seriously and said, "I love Fairy Tail, and I know you love Fairy Tail, but if there's anything I love more than Fairy Tail it's you. I can't stand to see you acting so… so unstable. And if you keep this up, I won't hesitate to convince you to leave, understood?" Natalie smiled and hugged the cat, who also smiled softly.

"Yeah, Lilac; I can always count on you to push me in the right direction."

Just then, Kailah walked in. Natalie jumped up and said, "Hey, stone-head wanna go take a request?" Kailah stormed up to Natalie.

"Who ya callin' stone-head, air-brain?"

"You wanna go at it, rock-baby?"

Caiden walked up and separated them. "Hey, guys, why don't we just take a request like Natalie asked?" They both looked at him, then at each other, and nodded.

They headed over to the request board and stared at it for a long while before Kailah took one off. "How 'bout this guys? Slay a monster; it sounds simple enough." The other two nodded in agreement. "Great!"

They got the request stamped and left the guild hall to head to the town. Of course, they had to take the train, and Lilac was unfortunately out of sleeping pills. Kailah slung her arm around Natalie's shoulders. "Poor dragon-breath, you'd better not vomit on me."

Natalie elbowed her in the side. "I can make no such promises."

Caiden smiled and said, "I'm glad to see you're happier, Nats."

The blonde mage shrugged and said, "I just had a little talk with the old man that made me realize how stupid I was being is all."

He grinned at her and then they headed onto the train for the mission.

It was, to say the least, an awful train ride. Natalie puked out the window countless times, and Kailah was in a huge argument with Caiden over which one of them would be the one to actually _slay _the monster they were after, as in, land the blow that killed it.

Lilac merely sat on the table and occasionally rubbed Natalie's back to try and ease her puking, which didn't really help, but also didn't necessarily make the situation any worse.

When the train stopped, Natalie fell back in the seat, her face flushed and her eyes dull. Kailah looked at them and said, "Alright, now that you can actually comprehend when people speak to you stardust-brain, I think we should check in with the person who put out the request, and then go rent a hotel room. It's been a long train ride from Magnolia, and I doubt we'll have much time to even start looking for this monster today, let alone slay it."

Lilac nodded and said, "That's a pretty good idea. We can all get a good night's sleep and start the mission in the morning." Natalie and Caiden also nodded in agreement. The four of them got off the train and went to a large mansion at the end of the village they were in.

A woman opened the door and ushered them in. "From the Fairy Tail guild, I see, your group looked promising." A little boy was sitting on the ground playing with toy trucks and little toy firemen. He looked up at the woman as she said this.

"You said the last group looked promising too Auntie!" The woman shot him a glare.

The woman looked at the four of them again and said, "I'm Opal Lillenland. And you four will be slaying the monster in the woods, yes?" They nodded and she said, "Alright. You see, no one has ever seen it up close, only from afar, and there have been an alarming amount of deaths, so it'd be amazing if you could slay it for us."

They continued talking for a little while before they left and headed to a hotel, where they checked into a room and headed up to it. There were two double beds and one single; Natalie and Lilac took the single bed and Caiden and Kailah took the doubles. They all prepared for bed afterwards and then gathered on one bed.

"What that kid said is kind of unnerving, don't you think?" Kailah said nervously. "The last group looked promising too. Does that mean they _died _trying to kill this thing?"

Natalie gave her a nudge. "Hey, rock-brain, don't worry about it. The other guild probably gave up. Or they may have been weak. In any case, we have something that they probably didn't. We're _Fairy Tail. _Yeah? So let's just get a good night's sleep and we'll be fine."

Caiden nodded in agreement, but he looked nervous too. Natalie had to swallow her own nerves. With that, they went to their separate beds to sleep, Kailah hugging a pillow, Caiden dropping his arm over the side of the bed to be somewhat closer to Natalie, and Natalie clinging to Lilac.

All four had a bad feeling about the mission.

**A/N Chapter twoooo! I'd really appreciate feedback, guys. How will I know if anyone is reading this or likes it if no one comments at all?**

** Next chapter is going to be good, I promise :D**

** Until then~**


	3. The Accident

"Rise and shine!" Lilac said as brightly as she could, shaking the three mages awake in turn. "We have to get going on this job as soon as possible so we can get back to the guild before sundown today!"

Kailah rolled out of bed slowly and landed on the floor with a thud, groaning as she clung tightly to the corner of the blanket which was now hanging off the bed. "Just… ten more minutes…" she mumbled, and curled up with the corner of the blanket, grinning slightly as she began to fall back to sleep. Lilac grabbed her hair and pulled her into a sitting position.

"Ow, ow, ow, stop it, cat! Stop it!"

Lilac let go of her hair. "Come on, you can get up now, it won't hurt."

Natalie slowly got out of bed, yawning, and Caiden stood up and stretched. They all got ready sluggishly, Lilac making the beds before standing on one and making sure the group kept moving.

"What time is it anyways, Lilac?" Natalie asked when she'd finished getting ready.

Lilac smiled, "I woke you up at 5:30. It's about 6:00 now."

The three teens exchanged incredulous looks; they usually woke up between 8 and 9 at the earliest. "Well," Kailah sighed, "now that you've woken us all up way too early, we should probably get started, shouldn't we?"

"Yep," Caiden yawned, "Maybe the fresh air will wake us up, eh?"

With that, the group headed out and went towards the woods, where the monster was said to reside. When they stepped into the woods, Kailah said, "Ok, so I know it's usually better to divide and conquer, but I feel like maybe we should search together this time."

She looked at the others and saw that they were all nodding vigorously. The monster had supposedly killed countless people; no one had seen it and lived. This was by far the most difficult job any of them had ever taken, and none of them were S-Class yet.

They walked deep into the woods for what felt like hours without a single sign of the monster. There weren't any footprints of any kind, there weren't any strange scents or sights; there was absolutely nothing to indicate that it was actually there. "Are we sure it's actually here?" Lilac groaned, making her wings disappear and clinging to Natalie's back tiredly.

"It must be," Natalie said, "There's nowhere else it would-," she broke off at the sight of a huge, black scaly beast with blazing red-orange eyes like tiny flames and long, sharp, spiny golden horns. It had razor sharp claws and a long spiked tail which dragged on the ground behind it, leaving deep, long indentations in the ground behind it. The group could only dare to imagine what it would be like if it hit _them._

"…be," Natalie finished in a small voice. She then got into a fighting stance and smirked. "Well, we might as well fight it." The others also got into fighting stances with small noises and nods of agreement. With a roar, the creature charged them viciously.

"Wing Slash of the Celestial Dragon," Natalie yelled, throwing an attack at the beast before it had the chance to hit any of them.

"Water Make Boiling trident!" Caiden said, joining in with her to form a unison raid and hit the monster with an even stronger attack.

"Rocks of the Earth rise to form spear!" Kailah snapped, sending a long, sharpened stone at it.

The fight continued like this, the best occasionally whacking someone but never hard enough to really injure them, as it was constantly getting hit by magic attacks from the three mages. After a while of back and forth fighting like this, it looked like they were going to win; one more hit and the beast would be down; when it lunged for Kailah. Natalie saw this and gasped; she knew she only had a split second to attempt an attack.

"Roar of the…"

"NATALIE, NO!" Caiden screamed suddenly when he realized what the result of this attack would be, but she was already casting the attack.

"CELESTIAL DRAGON!" she roared. It all happened so quickly. There was a huge, bright starry beam, and when it disappeared, the beast lay dead, but Kailah was nowhere to be seen.

She hit the fallen creature once more to roll it over and see if Kailah was just underneath the strange creature, but the girl was gone. "W-where's Kailah?" Natalie said with a fearful sense of foreboding, her voice sounding nervous and somewhat horrified, as she turned to look at Caiden.

Caiden's face was ashen and tears were running down his cheeks. His eyes were wide with disbelief and he seemed to be struggling to find oxygen and struggling to find his voice. "Natalie you…" he started weakly with a shaky voice, but then he shook his head, "there wasn't enough time. You saved her from getting hit by the monster but your attack was so strong that it…"

Natalie stared at him in horror and shock when it occurred to her what she'd done. She whispered apprehensively, "You mean… _I _killed her?" He stared at her for a long while before nodding slowly and tentatively, as though the truth of the nod would kill them both.

The blonde girl fell to her knees, gasping desperately for air, looking like she was going to vomit, but then she tipped her head back and screamed a blood-curdling screech, tears falling from her eyes. She fell to a curled up position on the ground, sobbing so hard that her entire body jerked around. Caiden just stared at her in utter shock, unsure of how to react from this point. After a little while of watching the love of his life beat her own self up internally and knowing that it wasn't her fault, really, Caiden went over to her and took her in his arms.

"It was an accident," Caiden murmured in her ear sadly, "It was all an accident. This shouldn't have happened. None of this should ever have happened." Natalie merely sobbed even harder and Lilac walked tentatively over to the two of them, her brows furrowed together.

"Caiden," she said softly to the grieving boy, "I can take her. But we have to go. You have to get the reward alone, and if the woman asks, just tell her we're trying to find a train ride that's leaving today home while you collect the reward. Understood?" Caiden nodded, stood, and wiped his tears.

Lilac wrapped her tail around the broken Natalie's torso and flew up in the air above Caiden, who took the horn of the monster as, not a token of their victory, but a way to remember Kailah, and headed out of the woods with Lilac flying behind him. He collected their reward quickly and antisocially and then they headed to the train station and got on a train back to Magnolia.

Caiden held Natalie tightly, who was now trying not to vomit as well as bawling. Caiden rested his head on hers, closing his eyes as tears slid out of them and down his cheeks to his chin. He attempted to comfort her, and in her own grief-stricken way, she attempted to comfort him, by wrapping her arms around him as well. After a long train ride of this, they got off and Caiden half helped, half dragged the poor girl to the guild, where he sat her down carefully on a bench and sat next to her. Heads turned their way, brows knit in confusion, curious glances flicked over to them, and they gained the attention of many, many people.

Penelope, the bartender, was one of the first people to notice the two sad children and the Exceed enter the guild, and she hurried over to them. "Gosh, are you two alright? Do you want anything? And where is Kailah?!" Concern was written all over her face, and her eyes flicked wildly between the two of them.

Natalie turned a sad face to Penelope as she attempted to gather her bearings and beg for something to chase the pain away. "G…get me… g-get me the strongest a-alcoholic drink y-you h-have…" she then turned and buried her face in Caiden's shoulder, and he looked at Penelope apologetically but also couldn't stop crying.

"No, Penny," he said quietly, beginning to explain what had happened on their mission, "we're not okay. Kailah she…"

"I killed her," Natalie mumbled shakily before he could continue. "It was my fault. The beast… it was coming at her and I thought I could hit it with a strong attack and she'd be fine, but I couldn't. It was too strong. My attack… it was too strong, see? She's dead. She's gone. Not even her body is still here. It's_ my fault._"

Penelope stared at her with a horrified expression drawn on her face. She looked at Caiden as though she were expecting him to tell her that it was a joke, that Kailah was just injured or that she had missed the train back and that's why they were so upset. "She's lying, isn't she? She's lying! Kailah can't be… no!"

Natalie let out a long sigh of finality. "She is. Now about that drink…"

Penny stood up quickly and went over to the bar, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she poured to alcoholic beverages and hurried back over to where Caiden and Natalie were sitting. She handed one to Natalie and kept the other for herself.

Slowly, people gathered around, asking what was going on, why everyone was crying, where Kailah was. It got to the point where Natalie was far too drunk to explain and Caiden had to tell everyone that inquired about the situation. Finally, word of what happened got to Natsu. The fire dragon slayer stood up on a table in the middle of the guild and let out a dragon-like roar. Every head turned in his direction.

"Guild mates… friends… _family… _Kailah Eberona has passed away. We will hold a proper funeral for her tomorrow, and it would be greatly appreciated if you would bring something related to Kailah in some way to put in the coffin, as her body is nowhere to be found. And I know that this is a tragedy and it'll take us all a long time to get over… but we must remember that she is still with us, in our hearts, and she will always walk with Fairy Tail, as well as with Mavis, Reedus, and all the others who have left us!"

He, as well as many other Fairy Tail members then proceeded to let out mournful cries, cheering not for the loss but for the attempt at an uplifting speech. Erza, who had been sitting in the corner of a guild, had tears falling silently. She watched the rest of the guild, grieving, but also knowing that the one person who needed someone to understand was the one who had technically killed Kailah.

The redhead stood, her armor clinking. A few pairs of eyes turned to watch her as she slowly walked to where a drunken Natalie was sitting. Lucy went to say something to Erza as the Fairy Queen grabbed Natalie's arm in what appeared to be a tight grip, but closed her mouth with a glare from Erza.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow your daughter for the night." Natsu and Lucy both understood simply from the look on Erza's face as she dragged Natalie out of the guild hall and towards her own home.

When they arrived at Erza's house, Titania dumped the blonde girl onto the couch and proceeded to make tea. She brought it out and sat down next to Natalie, handing the half-conscious girl a cup.

"Erza…?" Natalie mumbled blearily, blinking a few times in an attempt to focus her vision which seemed to be spinning and wobbling. One minute, there were four Erza's. In the next, there was one, then two, then seven. She thought she could see a sad smile on the woman's face when it focused on a single Erza but she wasn't sure. She couldn't really see anything properly.

Erza sighed, glad that she could at least speak normally, and said, "Yes, Nats. I want to talk to you about what has happened. Drink some of that tea of yours; it's not good to have all that alcohol in your body with nothing else."

Nat frowned and considered arguing that she didn't want to focus and that she didn't care what happened to her body, but did as she said because it was Erza and nobody argued with Erza, feeling her dizziness die down just a bit with each sip of herbal tea she took. Finally, she'd finished it all, and was able to set it down carefully on a coffee table in front of the couch. She then turned her attention back to Erza.

"Right," the older girl said, realizing that Nat could pay attention now, "I know how it feels to lose a friend. Believe me; I've lost my fair share. And I know how hard it can be. But Natty, you can't let it get to you too much. It's okay to grieve for your friend, but it's not okay to lose your mind."

The blonde glared at Erza. If looks could kill, Erza would be long gone. But then Natalie muttered, "How can you possibly know how this feels? I know you've been through a lot but you've never been in my situation! You may have lost friends before but you've never _killed _someone. And someone you care about at that! I don't think I can ever get over this, Erza."

The S-Class mage sighed softly and said, "I know you've heard all the stories there are to hear about Jellal. So you must understand that I do know what it's like to have technically killed someone. You see, when Jellal was being manipulated, he tried to kill Natsu and I. I was protecting Natsu. The attack should've hit me, and I should've died, but instead it hit one of my dear childhood friends, Simon. He died saving me. It was my fault that he died, and I basically killed him."

Natalie looked down thoughtfully, taking in what the older woman was saying to her, then looked up and said apologetically, "Look, Auntie Erza, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge like that it's just that… Kailah… we always fought but she was my best friend, y'know?"

Erza smiled sadly and hugged her gently so as not to crush her with her armor. "Yes, dear, I know. But you just have to move on; we all do." Natalie nodded a little bit and Erza ruffled her hair. "Good; now come on, you must be exhausted. Now, off to bed with you, kiddo."

Nat stood up, gave a small bow to Erza, and headed off to bed, having spent a lot of time at Erza's when she was younger. Erza, meanwhile, sipped her now-cold tea worriedly. She knew that Natalie wasn't completely convinced or comforted by her advice, and she knew that it wasn't the most sufficient advice, but what else could she do?

Finally, after a while of contemplation, she followed the young dragon slayer to bed, hoping that everything would simply sort itself out like it had after the supposed loss of Lisanna all those years ago. As she requipped into pajamas and crawled into bed, she murmured softly, '_we can only hope.'_

**A/N Literally the interesting is growing, bear with me. The plot will come into play soon. Oho, and you probably thought this was the plot! HAHA NO. **

** Do you liiiiike? Tell meeee!**

** Until next time!**


	4. Goodbye, Fairy Tail

Natalie awoke the next morning to see a black dress lying at the foot of the bed with a note placed neatly on top of it. She slid out of bed tiredly, feeling slightly dizzy with hangover and picked up the little piece of paper, squinting at it to read and comprehend the words on it.

_Nat-_

_ I let you sleep in because Mavis knows you need your sleep. When you wake, it'll probably be roughly 10:03 AM, and by the time you're done reading this it'll be 10:07. Kailah's funeral is at noon, and I'd like us to arrive around 11:45. Wear the dress I've laid out for you. Shower, do your hair, make yourself look presentable. _

_ I know this is going to be hard for you but it needs to be done. It's what Kailah would have wanted. And if you're beating yourself up still, at least do this for her. You owe her this much, to at least attend her funeral and maybe even speak for her. I'll come in to check on you at 11:15, I'd appreciate it if you'd eat breakfast as well, so hurry and get ready!_

_ -Erza_

The blonde hesitantly looked at the clock, which read 10:07. Damn, Titania could be scary. Her eyes trailed to the dress that was laid out. The bodice was plain black fabric, with a heart-shaped top. Above the plain heart was net that would go up to the neck and down as sleeves. The skirt was plain as well, with a layer of lace-like netting over top of it.

The waist line was a lace-net strip of pink, probably to match her hair. Smiling sadly, she took it and headed into the bathroom to shower. When she had finished showering, she dried her hair and put it into two braids on each side that curled into a bun in the back. She then slid into the dress, zipping it up and tying the strip of pink into a bow in the back.

She then applied a layer of mascara and eyeliner, making a dark gray and dark pink smoky eye appearance. Next, she put on a light layer of dark pink lipstick and headed out into the bedroom, where she realized it was 11:15, and Erza was poking her head through the door. The redhead smiled at her and waved her out.

"Come on, I made waffles. I'm glad to see you're ready by precisely 11:15. My calculations aren't half bad, huh?" she said with a slight smile at Nat. Natalie forced a smile back and nodded, not saying a word though. She and Erza went over to a table on which two plates of waffles were sitting.

They sat down, poured syrup and butter on the waffles, and then proceeded to eating them. "These are really delicious, Erza," Natalie said softly, "whenever my dad makes waffles they end up burnt." Erza laughed and Nat smiled a little at her own words, but couldn't bring herself to let out so much as a giggle to show that she was even a little happy.

They fell into a comfortably awkward silence, as strange as that sounds, and finished eating, before Erza took Natalie's wrist gently and pulled her up, then began to lead her out of the house, because it would be just like the blonde to try and worm her way out of this because she couldn't bear to face anyone.

When they arrived at the guild, they saw everyone dressed in black. People who hadn't been seen in ages were there, having been told of the tragedy and hurrying back to attend the funeral. A few people were talking with these wizards, but it seemed that no one could muster up their usual boisterous behavior.

Caiden walked over to Nat immediately and pulled her into a tight hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him as well and she could feel wet tears dripping onto her shoulder. She frowned. Caiden was crying, and it was all her fault. He pulled away from her and gave her a small smile, slinging his arm over her shoulders.

It was a dismal day, the perfect stereotypical weather for a funeral, although it wasn't natural. Rain was falling lightly and sure enough, Gray was holding Juvia in a gentle embrace and she looked miserable. Kailah didn't have parents in the guild, so Juvia and Gray had watched over her along with Caiden, since the three were normally together.

Natsu stood before his guild and took a deep breath before saying, "Everyone, if I could have your attention, please." His voice was soft. "Yesterday we lost someone dear to all of us. Kailah brought with her liveliness and fun to Fairy Tail. Her confident and bright personality is not one that will be forgotten, or gotten over quickly. Her life may have been short, but it was well-lived. And now, we must give her a proper burial."

The guild members slowly shuffled out of the guild hall, most of them clinging to one another, only a few walking alone. Erza and Penelope, who was surprisingly strong for her tiny frame, were carrying the coffin as they headed toward the burial place.

When they arrived there, it began down pouring, and Gray hugged Juvia even more tightly as she clung to him desperately. Caiden had a pained look on his face, not wanting to see his parents so upset. Natalie was holding onto Caiden's arm half-heartedly, feeling worse and worse the more people mourned and grieved. They buried Kailah before the tombstone.

Lucy and Natsu stood close together, both crying silently. Even Amilya, who was barely old enough to understand the difference between life and death, was crying for the loss of Kailah. Erza was crying, Penelope was bawling, and the rain fell ever harder. Natalie couldn't take it.

She dropped Caiden's arm from her grasp. She looked around at everyone, taking in the sadness and the pain. It became harder for her to breathe. The world around her was spinning, swaying back and forth, taunting her like a toy on a string being held just out of a cat or dog's reach. She wanted to vomit, but her body told her otherwise. Her body said that no, she didn't want to vomit. What she wanted… what she wanted was to cry. But more importantly, what she wanted was to escape.

Running… people did it when they were scared, they did it when they were happy, and now, they did it when they were sad. Maybe it was that they did it when they were weak. In any case, there was no way that she was running from fear or happiness, so it had to be the latter. The land blurred around her. She didn't know where she was going or what she was going to do when she got there.

Eventually, however, she fell to her knees as a wave of pain crashed over her. She screamed to the cloudy sky and sobbed hideously before crumpling to the ground. Her dress was wrinkled and her makeup ran down her cheeks, leaving tear trails on her face. Her hands went numb and she was hyperventilating. Everything was spinning, faster and faster, and she couldn't make sense of anything.

Black spots appeared in her vision and as she drifted into unconsciousness, she felt arms wrap around her, and someone was muttering, _I'm sorry, _over and over into her ear. With her last bit of consciousness, she whimpered back a weak, "No… I'm the one who's sorry."

Natalie slowly opened her eyes, squinting into the bright light and blinking rapidly to gain focus. She looked around until her eyes landed on Caiden, who was sitting on a chair next to her, his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard her shift and sighed in relief.

"Caiden?" she murmured, "What's going on?"

Caiden let out a long sigh before saying, "Well you see we were at Kailah's funeral. You sort of ran out all of a sudden so I followed you, and as soon as I did you passed out. Nat, these past three days seem like they've been hard on you. You're on a downward spiral and I wish I could help you but I don't know how. Mavis, Nats, tell me how I can help you!"

"Don't put up a fight." She said simply, quickly, smoothly, as soon as he'd finished speaking. He looked at her in confusion and she went on, "Caiden I'm going to leave Fairy Tail. I'm going to find my own path and hell, maybe it'll lead me right back to this guild, this family. But I need to know Caiden. I need to know where I belong. Maybe it'll take some time and journey to figure it out, but it needs to be done.

"Kailah is dead because of me. I'm an adopted child who would have grown up with no interest in magic had it not been for Natsu and Lucy. I know it's cowardly to run from this accident I've caused, but then I suppose I'm a coward. I can't stay in Fairy Tail, especially not now, knowing what I've done. I just can't. So that's how you can help me. Don't fight."

He looked taken aback. "Natalie…" he started, but she just shook her head. He understood and sighed. "Alright, I won't fight, but you'd better know I'm not pleased about this." She smiled and nodded sadly. The two of them then headed to the guild, Caiden with his arm around her the whole time, as though he couldn't bear to let her go.

When they arrived, Lucy enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. "Thank goodness," she murmured, "we were all worried when you ran off like that." Natalie looked her mother in the eye with a straight but slightly broken expression on her face.

"I need to talk to dad." She said softly. Lucy's eyes widened as though she knew Nat's intentions, and she probably did, but she merely frowned and nodded, knowing that sometimes leaving was the best option. After all, she'd left the Heartfilia Mansion and had been happy, and even her father had found some tiny form of happiness before he died by leaving his wealth.

Nat walked past her mother and straight up to her father. "I want to leave Fairy Tail," she said to him quietly, not meeting his gaze. "I don't know how long I'll be leaving for or what I'm going to do when I'm gone, but I just can't stay here anymore for the time being. I… I just can't. It's too hard, y'know?"

He sighed softly and nodded. "We'll give you a proper leaving-of-Fairy Tail then, and I'll remove your guild-,"

"Stop!" a shrill voice came from behind them. They whipped around and saw Mavis standing there. Everyone's eyes widened. Some people shouted, "Mavis!" or "It's the First!" and some even bowed down. Mavis just laughed.

"I got bored on Tenroujima. Anyways, I'm glad I got here when I did! Natalie Dragneel, you silly girl, thinking you can just _leave _Fairy Tail! I won't allow it."

"But Mavis I,"

"Wait, let me explain," Mavis said. "You can follow your heart and head on your own path. I won't stop you from that. But you were brought into Fairy Tail by some of our greatest members and were raised a one hundred percent Fairy Tail member. So, I will not allow you to have your guild mark taken off. You may join another guild, make another guild, or maybe never have anything to do with guilds again. But you will _always _be a part of Fairy Tail."

Natalie's eyes watered with tears yet to be shed and she fell to her knees before the First. She bowed to the point where her head was nearly touching the ground and she whispered, "Thank you Mavis!"

"Stand up now, child," Mavis said, "and be on your way. Fairy Tail will always be with you, never forget it!"

Natalie stood and nodded, heading out of the guild with the awe-struck stares of everyone else following her. She swore she heard a 'please come back,' from Caiden, but she refused to look back. It was time for her to move on. She took a deep breath and headed out of the guild, hearing the doors close behind her. She kept walking until she heard footsteps pattering behind her.

She turned around and saw Lucy hurrying out with Amilya, and Lilac flying quickly after her. Amilya reached out to Natalie and the teen felt a tingle in her heart. "You thought you could leave without a goodbye?" Lucy murmured. "You may be leaving the guild, but you're always welcome back home. We _are _your family, no matter what you think."

Amilya reached out and whined, "Sissy!" Lucy set her down and she hugged the older girl's legs. "Come home sometimes, okay sissy?" Natalie smiled and nodded, leaning down to hug her back, and then hugging her mother.

"I will. Don't you guys worry; I'll be sure to pay visits. All I want is to find my place."

Lucy nodded in understanding and Amilya squeezed her legs once more before they allowed her to walk off.

Lilac joined her and said with a grin, "Didn't think you were going to leave me behind, were you?" she laughed and Natalie hugged the Exceed, mumbling a quick, 'Of course not.'

Natalie stopped by her house and grabbed her simple white shoulder bag, putting her money that she'd earned on jobs in it and also a necklace she'd received as a gift from Caiden for her 12th birthday. She sighed and then looked at Lilac. "Where should we go?"

Lilac looked thoughtful and said, "Why don't we just go wherever your heart takes you?" Natalie smiled and nodded. The two of them headed out and walked down the road in silence. Natalie zoned out but snapped out of it when she heard Lilac yelp, "Watch out!"

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground, rubbing her head. She looked up and saw a girl with long, wavy red hair and bright hazel eyes looking down at her. "My bad!" the girl gasped, "I should've watched where I was going. Here, let me help you." She held out a hand and Natalie took it, allowing the girl to pull her up.

"I wasn't watching where I was going either," Nat laughed, "so I guess we're both to blame." The redhead smiled, and Natalie found herself reminded of Erza. She then decided to introduce herself. "I'm Natalie. And you are?"

The redhead smiled and said, "My name's Eleanora. It's nice to meet, you Natalie! Say, what are you up to anyways? There's not much out the way you were headed, in that end of Magnolia."

Natalie shrugged. "Well I was in Fairy Tail, but I decided I wanted to find my own path. I don't know I just didn't feel like I was meant to be there. I guess I was just looking for something to do, some way to get going, you know?"

Eleanora nodded vigorously and said, "I was actually kicked out of my guild, Midnight Panther. They were really rough. You had to be the best or you weren't worth their time, and I guess I wasn't considered the best." She fell silent and then said brightly, "Is that an Exceed? You're a Dragon Slayer!"

Natalie nodded. "This is Lilac. And yes, I'm a Celestial Dragon Slayer."

"That's so cool," Eleanora breathed, "I always knew there were a lot of Dragon Slayers in Fairy Tail, but I never met one. Dragon Slayer magic fascinates me." She was silent for a moment before saying, "You must be really strong! I have an idea. Let's start a guild! I can introduce you to my friends; it'll be great!"

Natalie's eyes widened in surprise and she said, "O-okay, sure!"

Eleanora laughed and said, "You can be the first master, as long as I get to think of the name!"

For the first time in days, Natalie felt a weight lifted off of her. She nodded with a wide smile and the two of them ran off, laughing and talking and getting to know each other more. Lilac became friends quickly with Eleanora as well.

Finally, Natalie felt like she knew where she was headed and why.

**A/N HERE. IT. IS! I'm too excited oh gosh. There's going to be a Grand Magic Games because I'm cool like that and omg are you guys excited? I'm excited! But I'm also kind of sad. No reviews? Come on guys! If you don't like my story at least tell me that much :P **

** But in any case, thanks so much to those who followed and favorited. You're the reason I'm not giving up! As long as you guys keep reading as I keep posting, I won't stop! I refuse to let you down!**

** Until next time!**


	5. The Grand Magic Games!

_Seven Months Later_

"Hey, Penny, come look at this," Caiden said, holding up Sorcerer's Weekly and beckoning Penelope from the bar in the Fairy Tail guild hall. The petite bartender walked over, her heels clicking on the ground, and knelt down beside the boy who was sitting on a bench.

Caiden pointed to an article which read: 'Guild Rising in Power; Could We Have a New Strongest Guild? Find Out at This Year's GRAND MAGIC GAMES!' Below was the name of the guild, Star Flight, and the guild's crest, which was a dragon with a star for an eye and feathered wings.

Below that was a picture of four people. In the middle was a girl wearing a silky blue dress with spaghetti straps, her arms slung in a relaxed way around the companions on either side of her. Her eyes were closed and she had a big smile. Her hair was long and straight and blonde, so long that it was cut out of the picture. On the front of her shoulder and chest was the guild crest, also a pale blue color. A cat was sitting behind her, popping up from her shoulder. The girl's dress was short and she was wearing white knee-high boots.

On the girl's right was another girl wearing a green strapless top and a darker green skirt. She was wearing brown knee-high boots. She had wavy red hair that fell into little curls at the bottom. Her eyes were a bright hazel color and she was making the fierce sign with her fingers and sticking out her tongue playfully. She had a green guild mark on her shoulder.

Next, on the left of the blonde, was a boy with smooth, combed down silver hair. His eyes were a stunning blue color and he wore a neat leather jacket. He was shirtless, exposing his toned abs. He was smirking at the camera, and also had his arm slung around the blonde girl. His guild mark was white and was placed on his abs, of course.

Beside the silver haired boy to the left was another boy with black, messy hair. His eyes were a dark brown color and he was wearing a white jacket and a red shirt underneath it. He had a lopsided smile on his face and was making a peace sign with his fingers to complete the end-of-the-line pose.

"Looks like we might have some good competition this year," Penelope commented, and Caiden nodded in agreement before closing the magazine. He wondered if Natalie would be there. He didn't even know if Natalie was in a guild anymore. For all he knew, she was a free-lance mage.

If only her hair hadn't been cropped out of the picture at the bottom… if only her eyes had been open… if only her back had been turned more toward the front… if only Lilac had been flying… they might have realized that the master of Star's Flight was Natalie.

Just then, Natsu burst into the guild hall. "EVERYBODY, IT'S TIME TO PICK THE MEMBERS TO COMPETE IN THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES!"

Everyone gathered around with curiosity in their eyes. "We're choosing five members for an A team and five members for a B team. Fairy Tail A team will be Caiden, Penelope, Hanna, Lori, and Jamison."

Caiden grinned and looked at the companions that would be on his team. Hanna was a quiet girl with tremendous amounts of magic power. Lori was loud and tough, and very intimidating. Jamison, meanwhile, was the oldest of all of them, never spoke a word, but never lost.

"Fairy Tail B team," Natsu went on, "Will be Erza, Mirajane, Juvia, Wendy, and Laxus."

Laxus's team cheered for him, but he shared an amused glance with Erza and Mira.

"Wow Natsu," he drawled, grinning, "Pitting the adults against the kids, are we now?" He laughed.

Juvia looked nervously at Caiden and said, "Juvia is going against her son as well. Master, are you sure you've thought this through?"

Natsu nodded brightly. "Yes. This will be a great learning experience for the kiddos, and if we are to win, it'll be great to have a strong team of older members, aye? And Juvia, should you go up against Caiden, spar! It's not like people are supposed to die in the Grand Magic Games. It's just a show of strength! It'll be _fun!" _

Caiden laughed. "Yeah mom, it'll be _FUN!_"

Some of the guild members laughed and they all broke into conversations about the teams, Gajeel complaining loudly to Levy about how Natsu was clearly picking everyone except him because he knew that Gajeel could easily show him up from past years.

Evergreen was giving Laxus a prep talk and Freed was crying from pride. Carla was prepping Wendy as well. Cana had convinced Erza and Mira to drink with her, and the A team was talking excitedly about how they had to win.

Meanwhile, however, other guilds were also preparing.

"Now, I know we're a new guild," Natalie said, looking at her guild mates with a slight smile, "But we're strong. The administrators in charge have granted us the right to have yours truly on a team, even though I'm master, because we are such a new guild. Because of this, we _will _have two teams. We can win this!"

The people around her cheered and she smiled at her guild, feeling her heart swell with pride. "The A team," she said, "Will be me, Eleanora, Darius, Eames, and Sandi. The B team will be Zyle, Lio, Azura, Bailei, and Isaiah. We will win! And can I hear why we will win?!"

The whole guild boomed, "BECAUSE WE'RE STAR'S FLIGHT!"

Natalie beamed down at everyone from where she stood atop the bar as they began to talk excitedly amongst themselves. Eleanora climbed up next to her and gave her a big bear hug. "This is awesome! Doesn't it feel great to be competing in the Grand Magic Games? _Our guild! _Wow, just wow, I mean, we might even beat Fairy Tail!"

Nat looked down when she said this and Eleanora frowned. "I'm sorry Natty. I know it'll be hard to see them again, but it was bound to happen sometime."

Natalie nodded and smiled sadly at her friend. "I know. It's just that I left so abruptly after the thing with Kailah. They probably think I'm a coward. And Caiden, gosh,"

Eleanora went to comfort her but suddenly Darius, the boy with silver hair, was there beside her. "Now, what did I tell you cutie about Caiden." He drawled as he pulled her to his side, his arm wrapped around her thin waist.

"I know. I should forget about him because he's probably forgotten about me. You guys are right."

Eleanora nodded with a wide smile. "That's the spirit!"

They jumped down from the bar and Eleanora and Darius went over to Eames, the boy with the messy dark hair, and started to talk. Natalie, meanwhile, looked around with a slightly nervous expression on her face. Azura walked up to her and took her hand.

"Master," the girl said softly, "try not to worry too much. The Grand Magic Games is meant to be a fun way to determine the strongest guild in Fiore. It's not like you're going to have to kill any of your old guild-mates. Besides, we're your guild now, and that means that we're your family. You're the best master any of us could've asked for, and none of us will hesitate to talk to you if that's what you need about your problems you may have. You helped all of us. We owe you, and even if we didn't, we love you."

Natalie smiled; there was a lot of truth to her words. Most of Star's Flight's members were people who had been cast away or shunned, or people who were running and looking for something to call family and a place to call home. Natalie, having fled from her own previous guild, and Eleanora, having been kicked out of hers, were more than happy to accept them with open arms.

"Thanks, Azura. I love you guys too." The girl smiled and hugged Natalie, before walking off to talk to her teammates. Natalie sighed and sat on a stool at the bar as she listened to the conversations of the other members. She closed her eyes and smiled as she let their boisterous attitudes fill the hall with liveliness.

The day wore on and slowly people left the guild until it was just Natalie, Eleanora, and Sandi (the bartender) left.

Sandi sighed and said, "Wow, the Grand Magic Games. Star's Flight's first, to be exact."

Eleanora nodded. "It's exciting, isn't it? Though I must say, I'm kind of scared of seeing Midnight Panther there. I have no doubt they'll get into the final eight."

"Agreed," Sandi said, "though for me it's not Midnight Panther. Saber was my guild a while ago. I wasn't kicked out, though, so I guess I don't have to be afraid, just nervous."

Natalie nodded and said, "But we're Star's Flight now. We have each other, no matter what. And if our old families give us any shit, well,"

"They weren't really a family after all," Eleanora finished softly. "At least your guilds probably won't give you shit. Midnight Panther is bound to jump on me."

"But you're stronger now," Sandi pointed out, "we all are. We will be the strongest guild. We can win this!" They all nodded and left to Feathered Wings, the female dormitories for Star's Flight. They also had male dormitories, Rising Stars, on the opposite side of the guild hall. Needless to say, as a rising guild in power, they were getting pretty rich.

They all prepared for bed and went to their rooms, but none of them could sleep. Some couldn't sleep from excitement, others simply from nerves. And all had the same thoughts on their mind; the thoughts about leaving the very next day for the Grand Magic Games.

"WAKE UP!" someone screamed from above. Natalie squinted and saw Eames jumping up and down at the foot of the bed. "We're going to miss the train! The _entire guild _is up and waiting for you!"

Her eyes darted to her alarm, which had never gone off. "Shit, ok, let's go now then! I've got plenty of time to get ready on the train." He nodded and dragged her out of bed. She grabbed her bags which she had packed the day before (luckily) and ran after him, laughing as they sprinted to catch the train.

All of Star's Flight seemed to let out sighs of relief as she and Eames got on the train, and they seemed to relax in their seats. Eames led Nat to the compartment that Darius, Sandi, and Eleanora were in. Lilac was already there, and looked sick; after all, Eleanora was tossing her up and down in the air.

Natalie groaned, "I really hate trains." They all looked at her and laughed.

After the long and dreadful trip came to a halt, Natalie jumped up, grabbed Lilac, and ran off the train, her guild mates running behind her. When they'd all gotten off she turned to them and said, "You all know your assigned hotels and how to get to them, correct?" They all nodded and she said, "Alright. Let's go have fun! And those of you participating in the games, they've said that we _must _be in our rooms by midnight. _No exceptions! _Understood?"

"Hai!" the teams said, and then they broke off into their groups of friends to go explore the new city. Sandi went off with Isaiah, leaving Eleanora, Darius, Eames, and Natalie together.

"So how about we go to the hotel now and drop off our stuff, then go out and look around?" Eames suggested, and the other three agree. They all headed to the hotel they were to stay in and found, much to Darius' dismay, that they had to share a room.

"I wanted my own room!" Darius whined. He earned himself a whack over the back of the head with a shoe from Eleanora. Natalie and Eames were laughing insanely as Darius freaked out on the redhead. After a while of this, they headed out to go sight-seeing.

Fairy Tail had just arrived at their hotel as well. Caiden walked in, engaged in a conversation with Lori, who was boasting about how the was bound to win every match she went into. They went to their rooms and put their stuff down, then began to head out.

As they were walking out, something curious caught Caiden's eye. He turned and saw a group of four people walking out. They all had the Star's Flight insignia and appeared to be the same four people in Sorcerer's Weekly. He noticed something alarming though.

The blonde girl's hair was _pink _at the ends. And not just that, she had a _Fairy Tail _insignia on her back. He knew at once that it had to be Natalie. Dismissing himself from the conversation with Lori, he headed over to the group.

"Hey," he said, "Are you Star's Flight? There's been a lot of hype about you guys in Sorcerer's Weekly."

Natalie's eyes widened at the sight of him and she shied back behind Eames, who glanced at her in confusion. Eleanora laughed brightly and said, "Yeah! Honestly I think they're making a bigger deal out of us than we're worth. I mean, our guild was just founded seven months ago, and became an official guild five months ago."

Caiden nodded and said, "Yeah? That's cool; I look forward to participating in the Grand Magic Games with you guys then. It'll be fun!"

Eleanora nodded and said, "Totally! What's your name, by the way?"

Caiden stuck out his hand for her to shake it and said, "I'm Caiden. What about you guys?"

The redhead smiled and shook his hand. "I'm Eleanora, one of the founders of Star's Flight. This is Darius," she indicated to the boy with silver hair, "and Eames," she pointed to the boy with dark, messy hair, then she said, "and this is… Natalie?" She turned around in confusion.

"Where'd she run off to?" Eleanora asked, confused.

Darius smirked. "She said she had to go to the ladies' room. That it was an _emergency._" He wiggled his eyebrows. "If you know what I mean."

Eames whacked him. Eleanora shrugged and said, "Anyways, Nat's the other founder of our guild, and the master. Anyways, it's nice to meet you Caiden!"

Caiden nodded and said, "It's nice to meet you guys too! See ya later!" He then went back to Hanna, Lori, Penelope, and Jamison, and started talking to them, deciding against pointing out that Natalie was the master of Star's Flight.

Natalie popped up behind her group and said, "Caiden's gone, right?" Eleanora nodded, realization dawning on her.

"He's from Fairy Tail, isn't he?"

Natalie nodded quickly, before saying in a rushed voice to avoid being asked any questions, "Well come on then! Let's go check out the town!"

They all nodded in excited agreement and hurried out of the hotel to go look at things. They walked around and caused a ruckus, spreading chaos wherever they went, as expected. After all, most of the guilds participating in the games were spreading chaos. That's just what wizards do when they find themselves in a new and big place.

Everywhere they went, there were other guilds, staring into store windows with bright eyes, picking out the best bars to go to after the games at night, picking up pamphlets about places to go, and eyeing up things that vendors were selling along the streets. Star's Flight was pulled into the same tourist actions and to the same tourist attractions.

They probably looked insane to the common people who lived there, but then again, this happened every year, so what did it matter? They kept on running around and looking at everything there was to see, and when they got back to the hotel around 9 PM, Darius' arms were filled with pointless little knick-knacks that he claimed were "souvenirs for memories".

They were sitting on their beds when Eleanora murmured, "I wonder if there'll be a labyrinth this year."

Darius nodded, "There has been in the past few years. I wouldn't be surprised."

Natalie grinned. "Well a labyrinth is no problem! Not when we've got Eames!"

Eames smirked. His magic was a rare kind. He could cast his senses out and pinpoint an area, and it caused a magnetic feel that pulled him in the direction he made. His magic had other uses of course. It was known as Magnetic Magic. He could use it to direct all sorts of magic, his own or others, and also to confuse people.

They all laughed and nodded. "We've got this in the bag with Eames." Darius agreed, patting his friend on the shoulder with a bright, friendly smile.

Now, all that was left for them was to wait until midnight, when they would announce the beginning of the Sky Labyrinth.

**A/N Aaaaahhhh. Here we go.**

**I'd like to thank those of you who have favorite and followed! It means a lot!**

**And to my single reviewer, THANK YOU! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and I'm even gladder that you've reviewed! It means a lot to me!**

**I hope for many more, and most of all, I hope you all love my story!**

**Until next time!**


	6. Capture the Flag!

Sure enough, when the clock struck midnight, it was announced that Sky Labyrinth would begin. After the year in which they narrowed it down to the best 8 teams to begin with, they decided that it was a much cleaner way of starting out the Games, and so they stuck with it. However, it wasn't necessarily the same every year; for instance, the timing of the labyrinth's shifting was different each year, and it was never the same maze.

Eleanora stretched lazily and said, "Get going Eames, we don't have all night."

The messy-haired boy cast out his senses and found their destination. He put a mental magnetic beacon on that same place and said, "Right. Follow me." They ran for what seemed like forever, following countless twists and turns, when suddenly they ran into another guild; Quatro Cerberus.

The mages of the other guild prepared to fight, when suddenly the labyrinth jerked and they were all thrown sideways. All the wizards lunged to grab onto something, but there was a girl from Quatro Cerberus who missed it and began plummeting downward. Natalie reached out and grasped her hand though before she could fall too far off the huge orb.

"Thanks!" the girl breathed, her eyes wide with the terror from almost falling. Natalie smiled and gave her a small nod. When it finally fixed itself, Natalie helped the girl back onto it and she dusted herself off. The guilds eyed each other warily before finally a member of Quatro Cerberus sighed.

"Thanks… for… for saving her. And good luck." With that, they ran on, and Star's Flight continued on their path following Eames. As they ran, Eleanora cast Natalie a sidelong glance.

"Why'd you catch her?" Eleanora asked.

Natalie looked at Eleanora. "Simple, I didn't want her to get hurt, even if she is from a different guild. This isn't a battle round. Besides, they're going in the wrong direction anyways."

Eleanora smiled softly and said, "This is why you're master, Captain Natty."

Sandi nodded brightly as well. "We wouldn't be the best guild without the best master!"

Natalie laughed and they came upon their goal, laughing as they sprinted toward it and made it there; the first team to make it. They stood and waited for the next seven teams to come out.

The next team to make it through was Fairy Tail A. Natalie tried to avoid looking at Caiden, but she kept finding her eyes drawn to him, and he wouldn't stop staring her down as well. He had a questioning look on his face, but she removed it with a simple shake of her head.

Just then, another team burst in, Blue Pegasus.

After Blue Pegasus was Star's Flight B, then Fairy Tail B.

They waited for a long while before Sabertooth came through; looking pretty beaten up, probably because they'd won fights against other guilds on the way through.

Saber was followed closely by Kawaii Kitty and Midnight Panther. The announcers gathered now that they had gotten the 8 teams.

"In first place…" the announcer began, and then said in a shocked but happy voice, "Star's Flight A Team! In second place, Fairy Tail A Team! In third place, Blue Pegasus B Team! In fourth place, Star's Flight B Team! In fifth place, Fairy Tail B Team! In sixth place, Sabertooth! In seventh place, Kawaii Kitty! Now, last but not least, in eighth place, Midnight Panther!"

The crowd roared with applause, and the pumpkin man said into the microphone, "This is going to be a great Grand Magic Games-kabo! How exciting-kabo! Not to mention, we have a new and rising guild with teams in first and fourth place-kabo, that rarely happens-kabo! We'll see you later on everybody, for the first day of the GRAND MAGIC GAMES-KABO!"

There was more cheering, and the eight teams were shuttled off to their hotels so that they could get some sleep before the first day. Natalie was lagging behind the rest of her group, bogged down with thoughts. Eleanora and Sandi noticed, but knew that as long as her friend wasn't in tears, it was best to leave her alone.

Darius, Eames, Eleanora, and Sandi managed to squeeze into an elevator, leaving no room for Natalie. Sandi looked at the rest of the crowd and said, "Hey, Nat, you want me to wait with you?"

The blonde shook her head but gave the other girl a grateful smile. "That's alright. I'll be fine on my own. I can handle myself."

Sandi nodded, and the elevator doors slid shut, lifting them up to their floor. Natalie sighed and went to press the up button when she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned around to see Caiden. Her face drained of all color and she began to shake uncontrollably. Caiden noticed this and pulled her into his chest.

"It's good to see you," he said softly, and she could only muster a tiny nod. He noticed this and pushed her to about an arm's length from him, holding her up by gripping her shoulders. "Hey," he said, "just because you're not in Fairy Tail anymore doesn't mean we're not friends anymore."

"I-I know," Natalie stammered, "and I've m-missed you t-too. But it's been s-so long and I… I haven't seen a wisp of F-Fairy Tail s-since…" she took a deep breath to gather herself and steady her voice. "It's good to see you though," she said quietly. "How is the guild doing?"

Caiden smiled. "We're doing alright. We gained a few new tough members. Most people have forgiven you and moved on from Kailah's death; your family's doing well too. You've been writing to them, haven't you?"

Natalie nodded but then said, "Forgiven me? What do you mean by most people have forgiven me?"

The boy cast his eyes down and said, "Jamison… you remember Jamison, don't you? Right, well, it turns out he and Kailah were pretty close. Like, super close, and we were all just too dense to realize it. He still blames you for what happened."

"Oh." she said softly. "I see."

He nodded and hugged her again, practically breaking her bones. "Ow, Caiden, that hurts," she whimpered, and he loosened his grip just slightly.

"Sorry, I just haven't seen you in so long and I miss you so much Nats." He started to cry. "I-I wasn't sure if you were even a-alive."

She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest. "But I am, Caiden, we both are, and I'm right here. I'm sorry I worried you so much, but we're together now, right?"

He nodded slightly and she pulled back, smiling. "So, let's make the most of it. How about you and I hang out on our day off?"

His face brightened and he said, "Yeah! That'd be great!" She smiled and nodded.

"So it's settled. See you in the Games." He nodded and they both headed off to their rooms with fluttery feelings in their chests.

Natalie got to hers and immediately flopped on her bed. All four heads of her teammates turned toward her. Eleanora had a twinkle in her eye and smirked slightly at Sandi when she saw Natalie come in. The boys, dense as always, were too caught up in a pillow fight to notice that she'd entered, let alone notice any details about her entrance.

"So, Master, what took you so long?" Sandi asked with the smirk evident in her voice.

Natalie shrugged. "I got held up at the elevators. One got jammed."

Eleanora laughed and said, "Come on Natalie, it hurts that you don't think we can see through that lie of yours. You're blushing. What _really _took so long?"

Having her blush pointed out caused Natalie to blush deeper. "It was really nothing guys."

"Was it that _Caiden _boy?" Sandi teased, and Natalie tensed up. Sandi knew she'd guessed it, but it hit a nerve with Natalie. She jolted up in her bed and shot the other two girls a strange look.

She shook her head and said, "That's none of your business." Her voice had a cold feel to it, and she stood up quickly, going into the bathroom to shower. The guys by now had stopped their pillow fight and were looking on in curiosity and surprise.

There was an ear-splitting silence after she left, then Eleanora said softly, "It was Caiden. Our Master has a CRUSH! HOW CUTE IS THAT?" she and Sandi began squealing and talking excitedly, and the boys just shrugged and went back to pillow fighting.

Eventually, they all tired out and got ready for bed, then went to sleep, ready for the next day's games.

The next morning, Lilac dragged everyone out of bed (as usual) being the sort of mother of the group of mages, and they all headed to the arena. They stood near their B team, and Sandi was hitting on Isaiah while they waited for the announcer to begin the games.

Finally, they heard a lot of cheering, and their guild's name called. Natalie led her group out and they heard the commentator's voice ring around them. "Star's Flight is a new guild, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed it is. In fact, it is so new and so small that the Council has allowed the guild's master to be on their team. Though, from what I hear, that really won't be too necessary. They sure are a surprisingly powerful bunch of wizards!"

They announced the next guilds, the two in last place being the ones that Eleanora and Sandi had been in. Eleanora smirked as they called Midnight Panther last. _That'll show them, _Eleanora thought; _they made a huge mistake kicking me out._

When the cheering for the eight guilds died down, the announcer began to speak. "Today's first event is 'capture the flag' with a twist-kabo! Instead of hiding your own flag and protecting it, you're hiding someone else's flag-kabo. The point of this will be to find your flag-kabo! If you get into a scuffle and win, you will be awarded one point-kabo. If you defeat the person who's hidden your flag you get five points-kabo! If you get defeated by someone, you will re-spawn somewhere else-kabo. The first team to find their flag gets ten points-kabo! Pick your member and go!"

Natalie looked at the rest of her team. "Eames, it's the entire city, and it's a smaller target. I think we'd be better to send Sandi in." The rest of them nodded in agreement and Sandi skipped up. They announced her. They announced the people from the other teams as well, and once they had, they were all teleported to different parts of the city.

Sandi was standing with a flag in her hand, which just so happened to be Midnight Panther's, the guild that had _kicked Eleanora out. _She smirked and thought to herself, '_I'll win this for you, Elea.'_

Sandi's magic power was one that could manipulate imagery. For instance, she could make a fake tree, and it took a well-trained eye to see the slight ripples that indicated something fake. Alongside manipulation magic, she had been trained for years in an ancient art of combat which allowed her to apply shocking amounts of force to seemingly weak kicks and jabs of the hands.

She took the flag and hid it in a potted plant, using her manipulation magic to make the plant look fuller and the dirt heavier so as to hide the flag better. She then took off, confident in her hiding abilities and intent on finding her flag.

It was eerily quiet as she ran along, nothing but the pitter-patter of her feet on the ground to be heard. Her eyes caught sight of someone running in front of her suddenly. It was a girl, who was flat-chested, with dark royal blue hair flowing behind her. Her eyes darted around, looking for the flag and making sure that no one was going to attack her.

Sandi snuck up on the girl and realized it was Wendy of Fairy Tail. Smirking, she used her manipulation to camouflage herself, and when she was close enough, she jumped up in the air and began fighting Wendy with quick, nimble, but tough attacks.

Wendy retaliated by whipping around to face her and initiating Sky's Dragon Roar. Sandi laughed. Training with Natalie really prepared you for fighting a dragon slayer. When the attack started, Sandi dodged it with ease and continued attacking Wendy.

The blue-haired mage seemed to be weakening, when she suddenly reared up with a wing slash attack. It hit Sandi square in the torso and sent her flying. She hit a building with tremendous force and remained there for a moment. It looked as though she was down for the count. But then, she stood up, spat out a bit of blood, and smirked.

"You're pretty good. Convincing me I was winning and then taking me off guard, that's one of the oldest tricks in the book and yet people fall for it all the time."

Wendy was breathing heavily, clearly still losing the battle, but now with at least more of a chance. She grinned and said softly, "Yep, it works like a charm."

Sandi laughed and said, "If we weren't fighting, I'd look forward to getting to know you. Maybe on our day off or some night we could hang?"

The Fairy Tail mage nodded brightly and said, "Sure! Your guild intrigues me anyways!"

With that, they both fell into their fighting stances and began fighting again. Eventually it looked as though neither of them would win, they were so evenly matched. But finally, Wendy fell to her knees and then to the ground.

Sandi knelt down beside her when she realized she'd only gained one point. "Hey, you know who hid my flag?"

Wendy looked up as her body shimmered, preparing for teleportation, and she said, "I… I think it was Blue Pegasus. What about mine?"

Sandi shrugged. "You're the first person I've seen yet. If we run into each other again I'll let you know." With that she ran off in search of the boy from Blue Pegasus. It felt like she was running alone in silence forever again before she suddenly saw a flash of something that looked like the edge of her guild mark.

Tentatively, she walked toward it. It was hidden so openly, but no one was protecting it? Then, she felt something hot and sharp pierce her back; it was definitely a magic attack. She screamed at the sudden pain and fell to her knees before the flag. She was so close… it was hanging half way from a window just above her…

"Thought you'd go getting your flag that easily? I had a feeling someone was close by. Good thing I came back from searching for mine when I did." Sandi looked at the boy. He was from the younger generation of Blue Pegasus' members. He had spiky purple hair and gleaming amber eyes.

She gritted her teeth and said, "I'm still going to get it first." The boy's smile fell at her confidence. How could such a new guild have such strong determination? He glared at her and with a grunt, began throwing attacks at her. He had a light magic, which could be given any form, sort of like Maker magic. However, he could also use light beacons to keep track of things, and could sense when people were near the beacons.

Sandi screamed as pain exploded throughout her body. She refused to get beaten up so easily. She had to win for Star's Flight; for her friends. Standing up weakly, she glared at the boy before her.

The boy smiled and said, "Ah, beautiful and strong. Why, it'll be such a shame to see you lose."

Sandi's eyes widened in anger and disbelief at his words and she lunged at him, attacking him from all angles (or so it seemed), allowing him no time to fight back or even attempt to. Finally, after her relentless attacks, he fell to his knees and stared in horror at her. "You're… a… beautiful… monster…" he said with a soft chuckle before he fell onto his side, giving Star's Flight five points.

She then turned and grabbed hold of the flag, raising it up high. The crowds watching it on Lacrima screens cheered so loudly she could hear it from where she stood in the city.

All the participants were teleported back to the arena area and it was announced that Star's Flight won, putting them in first place with 16 points. Fairy Tail A was in second place with 8 points. Midnight Panther had made it up to third place with 7 points. The others were all nearly tied, with 6, 5, or 4 points each.

Sandi walked over to her teammates and as soon as she saw them, she collapsed, luckily falling right into Darius' arms.

Darius looked down at her with a fond but concerned expression on his face. "She got a pretty bad beating from that Blue Pegasus kid. We ought to have her patched up in the infirmary." He looped the girl's arm over his shoulders and put his arm around her waist to hold her up as he basically dragged her to the infirmary.

Natalie smiled lightly and said to Eleanora and Eames, "I bet she'll be fine for tomorrow. But in any case, this victory just goes to show that we can definitely win this!"

The other two laughed and nodded, and they began chatting excitedly amongst themselves and with the B Team and the members not participating while they waited for the battles to start.

Natalie took a few steps back, leaning on the railing to look down at the big arena, and sighed. She couldn't be happier to have this guild, but every time she looked at Fairy Tail's teams, she felt an ache in her heart that refused to let up. With a sigh, she murmured to herself, "I just hope I don't have to fight Caiden or Erza."

**A/N First day of the GMG how exciting aaaahhhh!**

** Well I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter, which might I add is the longest chapter I have ever written! I know I know you're probably all like "it's not even that long" but pfft it's LONG TO ME lol.**

** Remember to review and share! Thank you to all of my lovely favorties, followers, and reviewers! I love you all.**

** Until next time!**


	7. Battles and Man-Talk!

"The first battle will be between Fairy Tail A and Midnight Panther-kabo! The participants will be Penelope Silverlight from Fairy Tail and Laomi Urme-kabo!" the announcer yelled into the microphone, his voice excited, dripping with eagerness.

Penelope was heading out when Natalie tapped her shoulder and gave her a big thumbs' up. With a toothy grin she said, "Hey, Penny, whoop 'em good alright? Eleanora here was kicked out of Midnight Panther. Don't let Laomi win!" Penelope stared at her as though she'd seen a ghost for a moment before smiling back and nodding.

Nat let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding when Penelope left. Eleanora chuckled and earned a strange look from Natalie.

"Gosh, Master!" Eleanora laughed and said, "I'm sorry for laughing at you but you get so on-edge around them. From what I've seen, based on their shocked faces—not horrified, just shocked—they're just too happy to see you. Try not to get so nervous around them."

The blond sighed and nodded. "You're right. I do need to loosen up, don't I?" Eleanora nodded and they then turned their attention to the fight. It was a decent match; Penelope used light casting magic, a type of magic that allowed the user to manipulate light, and Laomi used wind magic.

In the end, Penelope figured out how to use her light beams to cut through Laomi's wind, consequently ensuring her victory.

"And the winner is Fairy Tail A!" the voice roared. The crowd roared with cheers and Fairy Tail A was flung ahead of Star's Flight with 18 points. The next teams to fight were Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail B won, leaving them with 15 points. After that was Sabertooth and Star's Flight A.

"Now, we have an interesting match, Darius Finnegan vs one of the ten wizard saints, Theo Neely!" Darius shot his guild an excited and nervous look and ran out to battle with Theo. Theo could move things with his mind, which automatically made him very powerful.

Darius, meanwhile, was a gravity manipulator. The battle started immediately with Theo taking a huge chunk of earth out of the ground and lifting it high into the air. Darius smirked and in the moment that it was above Theo's head he said, "Falling gravity," and held out his hands. A magic circle appeared above the chunk of earth, sending it crashing down onto the other man.

Theo reared up, flinging the earth off of him and shaking his head. "What a nuisance," Theo growled, "I'll beat you in a matter of seconds!" He uprooted a tree and flung it at Darius, who dodged a bit but still got tangled in the mess of branches. This gave Theo time to hit him with a large rock.

Darius muttered, "Zero gravity." This time, the magic circle was on the tree and the rock, which flew up in the air. He then said, "Unbalance," and it flung back on an angle at Theo. The fight went on like this for the full amount of time and they tied.

"Tch," Darius said as he limped over to his team, "I _tied? _Sorry guys. I play to win but this guy made me _tie."_

Eleanora laughed and slapped him on the back. "But you tied against one of the _ten Wizard Saints._ And just because you didn't win doesn't mean you didn't do well. We're back in first place!" Indeed, Sabertooth now had 11 points and Star's Flight A had 21.

They all laughed, including Darius, after a moment's frown. The next fight was Star's Flight B vs Kawaii Kitty.

"Kawaii Kitty?" Darius scoffed. "What kind of a name is Kawaii Kitty?"

Eames smiled and said, "You shouldn't underestimate them Dar. It's like the Blue Pegasus guild; their name may sound cute and girly but they've got some pretty tough wizards on their side." Eleanora nodded in agreement.

"I've heard that they've been rising on the charts too. They have a lot of extraordinary members in their guild." As soon as Eleanora said this, they heard the announcer say the participants would be Bailei Manson and Telzack Cliffe.

Nat smiled. "This should be good. I have a lot of faith in Bailei." The others nodded in agreement and they watched as the shadow mage fought with Telzack, who had ice powers. Eventually, it ended with Bailei as the victor, putting Star's Flight B up with 14 points.

Thus, the first day of the Grand Magic Games came to a close. The first thing both Star's Flight teams did was go to visit Sandi in the infirmary. When they got there, they saw her in ridiculously high spirits. Her light brown hair was in a mess around her head and she had some bandages wrapped around her, but she wore a bright smile.

"Guys, this is great! It's just the first day and we're in first place! Not to mention Star's Flight B moved up in the ranks too! The nurse said I'll be free to go back to the hotel with you guys tonight, and that I can still participate tomorrow but need to be wary of my injuries."

Zyle, who was sitting at the end of the bed in silence, smiled at her and said, "That's great Sandi." Natalie, Eleanora, Azura, and Bailei all exchanged amused looks. If anyone had a crush on Sandi, Zyle was sure to have the biggest. He was a quiet and reserved person, tall with orange hair and deep blue eyes. He was normally mature. However, he acted like a kid when it came to love, making it very noticeable who he liked.

Natalie smiled as she looked at her guild-mates and said, "Well, shall we head to the hotel then? Maybe we can hit up a bar or spa tonight too!" The others agreed and they headed out with Sandi to the hotel. They all went to their rooms to wash up and head out to enjoy the rest of the day.

After they'd gotten ready, Natalie and Eleanora decided to go to a bar together and have a drinking contest. Sandi and Zyle were going with Bailei and Isaiah to find something to do, and the others were going to explore.

"Wonder if we'll run into Midnight Panther," Eleanora murmured. "Seeing Laomi fight… no, seeing Laomi _in general _was hard enough. It reminded me of when I used to see them as my friends. I guess I still do, Laomi at least, and some of the others. It wasn't their fault I got kicked out."

Natalie gave her a sidelong glance and murmured, "Yeah, I know how you feel, about seeing them. But you've moved on with your life and they've moved on with theirs. Maybe your paths will cross again, but have faith in your own destiny. Isn't that what we told each other from the beginning?" She smiled at her ginger friend who grinned brightly back.

"Yeah; now LET'S GET DRINKING!"

-Many alcoholic beverages later-

"*hic* Elea, *hic*" Natalie giggled, "Elea… Eleanora!" she laughed insanely as Eleanora kept shouting back "WHAT?!" Natalie laughed, "Eleanora… did I win? I won right. Of course I won… I always win! I beat you Elea! *hic*"

"No way, *hic*, I won!" Eleanora snapped back, "It was all me… all me! My win! Buy me a trophy! And an ice cream cone please…"

"Ooh," Nat purred, "I want ice cream! GET ME ICE CREAM ELEANORA. GET ME ICE CREAM NOW." Just then, their discombobulated ears heard footsteps coming up to them. Natalie fixed her gaze on a shocked-looking Caiden.

"What… Natalie? Eleanora… are you two… _drunk?_"

Natalie burst into ridiculous fits of laughter and she said, "Drunk? Are you kiddin' me? We've been over this. _I won the drinking contest!" _Caiden face-palmed and Penelope walked up next to him. She started laughing at the sight of their old friend and her new friend drunk.

"We have to do something about them, Caiden," Penelope laughed, "We can't just leave them here. I'll take the redhead and you grab Natalie." Caiden grinned and hoisted Natalie up, dragging her out behind Penelope, who was dragging Eleanora.

As they walked towards their hotel, Penelope let out a sigh. "I find it funny that we were the ones who found them, not their guild-mates. I'm sure they would have in due time, but it feels like we just keep running into them in different ways, you know? And of all guilds, it's ours and Star's Flight. Natalie's guild… isn't that kind of funny?"

Caiden looked thoughtful and said, "Yeah, you definitely have a point there." He gritted his teeth as Natalie buried her head in his shoulder and he muttered, "Mavis, Nat, if I didn't love you so much…" Penelope looked at him inquiringly, not having caught what he said, but he just waved her off.

They knocked on Star's Flight A team's door and it was opened by Eames. His eyes widened when he saw Eleanora and Natalie. He turned around and yelled, "Hey, Darius? Come here, I'm gonna need a little help." He then turned back to the four at the door and said, "Thanks for bringing them back here. They go a little overboard when it comes to competitions of any sort, even drinking."

Caiden smiled and said, "It was no problem really. You guys probably would've done the same for us too. It was the least we could do." Penelope's head bobbed quickly in a nod.

Eames took Eleanora from Penelope and said, "We were actually going to go look for them in a little bit. In the middle of the games like this, it'd be no good to lose two of our members."

Darius came up behind Eames and said, "Here, let me take Nat from you." He put on a playful smirk, knowing Natalie was in no condition to beat him up, and said, "Between you and me, she's probably put on a few since any of you Fairies last had to carry her." Caiden chuckled at his little joke, but almost seemed reluctant to move Natalie from his embrace into Darius's.

Penelope stared at Darius, her eyes wide, and she unconsciously ran her fingers through her wavy lavender hair. Darius gave her a little smile, and Eames and Caiden watched this exchange of expressions amusedly. Penelope blushed and she said, "Yeah… well… we should be going." She smiled at Darius and Eames and said, "It was nice talking to you guys… I bet our guilds could be great friends in the future!"

She whipped around and hurried down the hall. Caiden rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, well, take good care of those two. Make sure you have some pain medicine on you tomorrow too… hangover is no friend to the head."

Darius nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks for bringing them back, talk to you guys later!"

Caiden walked off and they closed the door, hauling the two girls to their beds and tossing them down on them. They took Natalie and Eleanora's shoes off of their feet and they both fell asleep almost immediately. Eames sighed as he sat on his bed.

"That guy had a point. They're going to be pretty hung-over tomorrow." Eames said. "Knowing them, though, that'll only make their magic power stronger. I hope they don't overdo it." Darius chuckled as he said this.

"Overdo it? We're Star's Flight. We always overdo it! That's what makes us awesome!" Eames smiled and laughed at what Darius said, nodding with a huge grin on his face. Darius smiled and said, "But really, I don't think it'll be an issue. They're tough."

Just then, the door opened and Sandi walked in. Her cheeks appeared permanently red and she wore a bright grin on her face as she staggered into the room and sat down on her bed, giggling and staring at nothing in particular with a dreamy look in her eyes. Darius and Eames exchanged a knowing glance and then Eames looked at Sandi.

"You uh… have fun with Zyle?" Eames asked, his eyes shimmering with curiosity and amusement, and Sandi erupted in a fit of giggles and loving sighs as she bobbed her head excitedly. She went over to the two boys and sat down with them.

"Oh he was _wonderful,_" she sighed, "we ended up splitting up from Bailei and Isaiah. They went to a restaurant and we decided to stargaze. _Wow, _the stars were almost as beautiful as his eyes. But not quite; his eyes reflected them just perfectly and his hair, oh my goodness, his hair…" her voice trailed away and she said, "You two wouldn't understand. You're just boys. But when you're a lady in love like me…" she giggled again, seeming almost as drunk as Nat and Eleanora.

Darius smiled and said, "That's good Sandi, you must really like him. It's always great to have a budding romance to make fun of."

Eames laughed and said, "Yeah, so, when's the honeymoon?" Sandi shot him a dirty look and went back over to her bed, grabbing her pajamas and proclaiming that she was going to shower and get some sleep because she was still tired from the beating she'd gotten earlier. When she went to shower, Darius and Eames looked at each other, each waiting for the other to say something.

"Well Eames," Darius said with a smirk, "looks like you're the only one on our team who hasn't found a possible romantic interest. We'll have to change it. How about… Rinori?" Eames' eyes almost popped out of his head.

"R-Rinori?!" he gasped, "No way! Not her! Anything but her; no, Rinori hates me!" He pictured the raven-haired mage and shuddered. She was something else; she was pale, with short raven-colored hair and dark crimson eyes. She used a rare type of magic known as Shadow Flame magic. She could be truly terrifying, and made it a point to pick on Eames.

Darius laughed. "But she totally likes you, Eames. She only picks on you because she doesn't want people to think that she'd be so weak as to fall for you. However, she _did _fall for you. She blushes every time you do so much as look at her… and then, well, she beats you up, but that's beside the point."

Eames rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, right. I'm just her punching bag. Rin would rather die before liking me, believe me." Darius' eyes sparkled and he grinned, trying to smother his laugh which failed.

"Dude, Rin? Nicknames are just where romances start!" Eames blushed profusely and then they heard a door click shut. They looked over at Sandi, who was walking out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel. She smirked at them as she headed over to her bed and flopped down on it, her expression teasing.

She rolled onto her stomach and placed her head on her hands, crossing her feet in the air and twiddling her toes lazily. "I didn't realize boys had their own form of girl-talk. This should be pretty entertaining for me. Please, continue. I want to hear all about you and Rinori, Eames, and Darius, who's the pretty babe that you think you've got?"

They both blushed beet red and Darius said, "H-hey, if girl-talk is confidential for you girls, then shouldn't man-talk be confidential for us? We don't have to tell you anything about our love lives, and you have no right to listen in!"

Sandi shrugged and said, "Too late; I already heard everything while I was in the bathroom. You might as well continue. Just because you guys can see me now doesn't mean that anything changes; I can hear you guys just as well as I could before, I'm just not hiding behind a wall."

The two boys looked at each other before Eames said, "Well, for your information I don't like Rinori and she doesn't like me. In any case, we're done here now, and personally I think I'm going to get some shut-eye as well. Too bad you didn't come out here sooner, Sandi; you might have been able to listen in better."

Darius nodded and said, "Yep, all done here. Sorry Sandi but we just don't have anything else to talk about." Both boys had teasing expressions on their faces and they almost laughed as Sandi got an angry look of realization on her face.

"You guys are no fun! Now that I'm here you're just going to stop? I know full well you could've continued!" she snapped, her eyes holding a demanding glow in them as she stared them down. The boys burst into laughter at her angered reaction and she just appeared to get even angrier with them. Annoyed, Sandi crawled under her covers and turned off the lamp beside her, mumbling a pissed 'goodnight' and closing her eyes.

Darius and Eames decided they might as well go to sleep and both went to their own beds, also turning off their bedside lights and closing their eyes, falling asleep along with their teammates.

**A/N So we have a lighter chapter here. Just some fun… I thought this story could use a chapter for humor, eh?**

** By the way you all should check out my one-shot "Stay High"! It's a NaLu fic, of course!**

** I hope you all enjoyed, please review whether or not you like it! That'd just make my day (and maybe make me write the next chapter faster!)**

** Until next time!**


	8. Can't Help But Love Her

Natalie was the first to wake up the next morning, far earlier than they had to. She had a splitting headache and groaned in annoyance as she rolled out of her bed while trying not to wake the others. She checked the time only to realize that she still could have had two hours to sleep. Looking around, she smiled, seeing that everyone was asleep in the cutest ways, even Lilac who was curled up at the foot of her bed.

Sighing, Natalie stretched and decided to take a shower and use her extra time to relax and hopefully chase away the alcohol-induced migraine.

_'Funny, as I recall Eleanora and me both got super drunk. I wonder how we got back to the hotel room without one of us breaking a leg. I guess someone from our guild must have gone out looking for us, even they wouldn't be dense enough to forget that their friends went out for a drinking contest and never came back.'_

Smiling, she headed into the bathroom, running a shower with the water flow set to gentle so as not to make much noise and wake the others before they had to. As she stood under the hot water, she allowed her mind to wander, and she found herself thinking of Caiden more and more. An ache found its way into her heart, and grew more and more the more she thought about him. She had tried so hard to forget… and now look. She was being shoved right back in front of her own guild.

It had taken her up to the Grand Magic Games to finally push away her overwhelming feelings for Caiden, and now here he was, forcing himself upon her.

_'He doesn't have the right to do this to me. I asked him to come with me, but he didn't. He chose to stay in Fairy Tail with everyone else. So that means that he should have tried to forget about me just as much as I tried to forget about him. So why, then, why is he acting like we're still best friends? Why is he acting as though I never left? Why is he bringing all of this pain down on me? It isn't fair! And Kailah… how can he be so happy after what happened to Kailah? I still feel that pain every day. It's all I can do to laugh and be happy with my friends; I can never forget her. Why is he always so cheerful?'_

She hadn't been aware of it at first, but now she was quite painfully aware of the streams of tears falling down her cheeks and into the water that was draining around her feet. She cried until it felt as though she couldn't cry anymore, then finished up showering and got out. She wrapped a small towel around her hair and another around her body and headed out into the hotel room to get changed, praying that nobody was up.

A flash of nervousness shot through her as she saw a lamp on, but realized that it was only Lilac, standing at the foot of the bed, and that Sandi had left the room.

She sighed and sat down on her bed, fishing for her outfit for the second day of the Games. Lilac crossed her arms and said, "Natalie, have you been crying?"

"What of it?" Natalie said coldly, refusing to look her beloved Exceed in the eyes. She knew that if she did that, she would end up spilling out all of her problems to her friend, and then Darius, Eames, and Eleanora would probably wake up, and that would cause much more trouble than it was worth.

The Exceed narrowed her eyes and put a paw on Natalie's arm. "Look at me, Nat." she murmured, and Natalie looked at Lilac. She suddenly felt the tears flooding her eyes again, and she grabbed Lilac, hugging her close to her chest and crying again. She stifled any sobs, still afraid of waking up the others and getting pelted with questions. Lilac looked at Natalie in shock, but then spread out her paws to hug Nat as much as she could.

They were interrupted by a quiet voice next to them. "Natalie, why are you crying? Was it Caiden? I swear I'll beat him up if that's what you want. Nobody makes my friends cry and gets away with it."

Natalie turned her head to look at Eleanora, who had an awful glare on her face. If looks could kill, everyone in Fiore would be dead. Lilac wiggled out of Natalie's arms and sat beside her, and Natalie shook her head at Eleanora.

"No, it wasn't, not really. Well, yes, he did make me cry, but please don't beat him up. He means too much to me. I wish he didn't but he does. I'll tell you what, if you get put in a battle with him, you go ahead and pulverize him. But don't do anything like that outside of the Games. And it wasn't all him; I was thinking about Kailah too. I wonder… I wonder if she would have been in the Games too. She was a great wizard."

Eleanora smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sure she would've been in the Games. Don't act like she isn't here anymore, Natalie. She's still with you in your heart."

Natalie stopped crying and was able to finish getting ready. Sandi returned, claiming that she went to talk to Zyle, and she and Eleanora both got ready. Lilac took the liberty of waking Eames and Darius and forcing them out of bed to get ready for the day ahead of them. Eventually, they were all woken up and ready and they left to get to the Games.

They arrived early along with the B team and chatted about random things while waiting for the other guilds to arrive. Only Eames seemed to notice that Lilac was standing right at Natalie's feet the whole time and Eleanora stood closer to Natalie than normal with her arm slung around the girl's shoulders. He assumed it was just because she woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something like that.

Finally, the time came for the first event to begin. All the teams stood around as they waited for the announcer to explain what the first event would be.

"Welcome to the second day of the Grand Magic Games-kabo!" the voice came over the speakers and everybody in the crowds cheered with excitement. "Today's event is going to be a race. Just a normal race, with magic of course-kabo! Remember that the key to this event won't necessarily be to run the fastest; you can use magic power to boost yourself-kabo, and we won't break up fights if they break out-kabo! So, go ahead and pick your participants-kabo!"

Eleanora grinned and said to her teammates, "I think I got this." They nodded and she went up to participate.

When all of the participants had been decided they were thrown at the end of a long street leading up to the arena in the city. There was a strange silence before a loud whistle was blown and the members were allowed to start going. The Fairy Tail teams and Star's Flight teams seemed to be neck and neck for a while.

Eleanora had what appeared to be throwing starts sticking out of the bottom of her shoes and was using the blades to dig into the ground and propel herself along the ground. Next to her was Caiden, using water-make magic to push the people behind him back as he ran forward. He also gave himself a bit of a wave to ride on. Zyle was simply running, using none of his magic, right next to Eleanora. He had a neutral, bored look on his face. Mirajane was next to them as well, using Satan Soul to enhance her running abilities.

"What the heck, Eleanora?" Darius snapped, "Why isn't she using her true power?" The others shrugged. Eleanora was a skilled fire wizard and could manipulate other things as well. Throwing stars were just an extra specialty she had, as she could make them out of any element to enhance their skills.

All four people seemed about to reach the finish line when Eleanora's hair burst into flames. She let out a scream and the people behind her stopped in terror. The commentators started screaming about her hair catching on fire and how someone had to help her, but then she simply broke out into a rather demonic laughter. The flames licked behind her and suddenly she shot forward like a jet pack. She flew across the ground toward the finish line.

Caiden narrowed his eyes and summoned a humongous wave from the ground. It swallowed him up and crashed down over the finish line, landing on top of Eleanora and putting out her flames just as they both crossed the finish line.

"W-who won?" a commentator asked, confused.

The dust cleared then and they saw Caiden standing on the other side of the finish line. Eleanora was lying half across the finish line, her arm outstretched and her eyes swirly. She was drenched in water and seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. Mirajane came up next and helped Eleanora to her feet, taking her over to the wall just past the finish line and sitting her down as she transformed out of Satan Soul.

Zyle crossed next and the others followed in suit, earning their points respectively. Fairy Tail A was given 10 points, Star's Flight A 5, Fairy Tail B 3, Star's Flight B 2, Midnight Panther 1, Kawaii Kitty 1, Sabertooth 1, and Blue Pegasus 0.

They announced the places and the number of points and then went back to their guilds, Zyle picking up Eleanora and dragging her to the infirmary. A few other guilds were doing the same thing with their injured guild-mates who had been hurt in the event.

They went on to announce that the battle rounds would begin shortly but they were going to give everyone time to rest up before it began, and there would be a 15 minute break before they started again.

Eleanora came to after about five minutes and Darius laughed. "Geez, Elea, you really do go out just like fire."

Eleanora scoffed and said, "Well, Darius, I was fire. Water could easily put me out and unfortunately that's exactly what Caiden did. We'll make up for that second place though. We can win our battle easily, I'm positive."

After fifteen minutes, they announced that the first battle would be between Fairy Tail A and Star's Flight A, Natalie vs Jamison.

"Wish me luck!" Natalie said to her guild-mates as she walked out.

Sandi yelled, "As if you'll need it!"

Natalie looked at Jamison as she stood in a battle stance on the field. It felt eerily quiet as Jamison glared at her. He looked like he was out for blood. "You," Jamison growled in a low voice, "I have so much to say to you but I bet none of it would actually make it through your thick skull."

"You _killed _Kailah. I'll kill you, you bitch!" He got into a stance and three magic circles appeared around Natalie. She screamed as pain exploded throughout her body. Jamison grinned maliciously and kept doing it. She felt as though everything in her body was being cut open and stitched back together. Her muscles were tensing and relaxing, her teeth clenched throughout all of it.

She tried to scream but found her lungs to be constricted. After a few minutes of it, he finally took a break for a few seconds. She shook, on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Tears were running down her cheeks and she whispered, "S…stop… please… please stop… I can't…. can't breathe… I didn't mean… didn't mean to kill Kailah… it was… an accident I… I was trying to save her… there's not a day that goes by… that I don't think… think about it… and beat myself up for it… please… just stop…"

She became aware of her surroundings suddenly. The members of Star's Flight were screaming at her to get up and to fight back. The members of Fairy Tail were yelling at Jamison to leave her alone and to stop torturing her. She could hear Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Caiden's voices rising above the others, and Penelope's wasn't far behind in volume.

Eleanora was yelling at her to get up and fight, and she could hear Lilac and Sandi crying. She suddenly felt the tingling that meant the pain was going to start again. "N-no…" she growled, "Jamison…"

Just before the magic circles took effect, she rose to her feet, shakily slid a foot back so she was in a fighting stance, and said breathlessly, "Roar…. Of the…" she swallowed and said, "Celestial… dragon!"

The beam was stronger than any she'd cast before, knocking Jamison back into a wall and then continuing to pummel him until finally, he lie there unconscious but still alive. Natalie stood tall as they announced that she had won. Then, unable to bear the pain any longer, she fell to her knees, then onto her face, unable to move. All she was able to do was lie there and cry. She saw her guild mates rushing down to help her, but Caiden reached her first.

"Natalie…" he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him through half-closed eyes and smiled weakly before passing out in his arms. His eyes widened and he shook her slightly but she didn't move. He glared at Jamison and muttered, "I'd beat him up for you but it looks like you already took care of that."

Just then, Bailei and Sandi came running over. They glanced at Caiden and Sandi said, "We can take her. We'll let you know when she wakes up though; it looks like you guys have some business to attend to, given that you got down here before her own guild members."

Bailei leaned down and took one of Natalie's arms, slinging it over her shoulders and wrapping her own arm around the unconscious girl's waist. Sandi did the same thing on the other side and they slowly managed to get the poor girl out of the way and to the infirmary, where people immediately got to work on her wounds.

Caiden shuffled back to his guild mates, looking rather pissed, and Penelope put a hand on his shoulder, murmuring, "You can't be too hard on Jamison; he thought he had a score to settle with Natalie even though he really didn't."

"He was going to kill her, Penelope," was all Caiden said before sighing and leaning on the railing.

Both Fairy Tail and Star's Flight were distracted during the next battle; too busy talking about the fight between their guilds. Fairy Tail was pissed at Jamison for attempting to murder his former guild-mate, and Star's Flight was pissed for the same reason as well as the fact that Natalie had gotten beaten up so badly and she was their friend.

Star's Flight B ended up battling Blue Pegasus and tied, and Fairy Tail B won against Sabertooth. After that, both of the guilds went to the infirmary to check on Natalie and Jamison, who was also unconscious.

Eleanora took Natalie's hand in hers and kneeled next to her bed, resting her head on the edge of the mattress and shaking with hardly suppressed anger. The wizard working in the infirmary said that her lungs weren't taking in enough oxygen because of all the strain, and she now had an oxygen mask on and a tube connected to her wrist.

It looked worse than it was, they'd been told. When she woke up, she'd be able to breathe easily in no time, and they could take off all the tubes and such and she'd be fine for the next day of the Games. But looking at her while she was unconscious made it look so much worse, and they all were feeling dreadful about what had happened to their master.

Lucy and Natsu came into Natalie's room a little while later and Lucy said quietly, "You wouldn't mind if we sat here for a little while would you? Jamison just woke up, and we haven't seen our daughter for seven months."

The members of Star's Flight nodded and moved over so the two could see Natalie. They watched as Lucy broke down immediately and Natsu tried to hide his tears but couldn't hold them back for long and eventually began crying with his wife. Eventually they left, wishing the guild luck and telling them to mention to Natalie that they hoped she'd heal quickly.

Caiden came in after that, and Sandi pointed out amusedly that Fairy Tail seemed almost as concerned as they themselves did. It got to around dinner time and the members of Star's Flight slowly filtered out until it was just Eleanora, Lilac and Caiden sitting next to Natalie. They were silent; the only sound the heart monitor and the sound of her forced breathing.

"She really cares about you, you know." Eleanora finally said, breaking the silence and surprising Caiden, who had not been expecting anyone to speak to him.

"It really breaks my heart. She loves us all in Star's Flight so much, and for that we love her just as much. She's like the older sister none of us ever had, even though most of us are the same age as her and some of us are older." She sighed and continued, "Then, to see her cry over you… man, that hurts. This morning she couldn't stop crying. Lilac and I did our best to comfort her… I can only imagine how hard it must be on her, you know. She thought she was the cause of her best friend's death. She blamed herself so much for that."

"We tried so hard to help her forget about that, and to help her stop thinking about you guys all the time. I think she was finally getting better when we came here. Now, she's becoming a wreck again and none of us really know what to do."

Caiden sighed and whispered, "I wish I'd gone with her when she left Fairy Tail sometimes. She offered, but I refused. My parents are in Fairy Tail, and so are all the friends I'd ever known. But the thing is, I love her too."

They fell into silence again and then they heard the constant pumping of air into Natalie's lungs stop. She took the oxygen mask off and sat up, grumbling about how annoying it was and how it was interrupting her nap. However, when she took it off, her eyes widened and she started gasping desperately for air. Eleanora jerked forward and shoved it back toward Natalie's face.

"You're not used to breathing normally yet, stupid!" Eleanora screamed, sounding angry, but Caiden knew it was just because she was concerned. He smiled as she yelled at Natalie. "Take it off slowly! You just woke up from being unconscious and your lungs were strained."

Natalie did as Eleanora said and smiled at her thankfully. She then looked at Caiden and said, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Fairy Tail?"

Caiden looked down and said softly, "I was worried about you, Nats."

Natalie sighed and smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Well, thanks for being here I guess. How long was I out?"

Eleanora frowned and said, "A few hours. Most people left to get dinner and go back to the hotel. I stayed because I couldn't stand to leave you, and of course Lilac stayed. And, well, I guess Caiden just told you why he was here."

They were quiet once more, but then Natalie began to cry. They looked at her in confusion and worry and she said through her tears, "I feel horrible. I killed Kailah. I should've let Jamison kill me. That's what I deserved."

Caiden and Eleanora both stood up at the same time. Their voices were in unison as they spoke.

"Don't you dare say that!"

Eleanora went on, "Star's Flight needs you Natalie! We all love you so much. If you had died, what would we have done?"

Caiden nodded and said, "And Fairy Tail would miss you too. I would miss you! Honestly we were more worried about you than we were about Jamison. That jerk got what he deserved. Natalie, you mean too much to me to say you should have died."

She sighed and said, "Thanks. I guess you guys have a point. Now, I'm really tired. Can I go to sleep?"

They nodded and watched as Natalie snuggled back under the covers and closed her eyes. Caiden and Eleanora left to give her space, leaving her alone with Lilac. As they sat outside the infirmary, Caiden said quietly, "You know Eleanora; sometimes Natalie can be a big idiot. But I guess, unless you're Jamison, you just can't help but love her."

**A/N Hmm. I'm losing inspiration for this story. Help me out guys?**

** Until next time.**


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